Taken
by InsideYourDreams24
Summary: Murdock's missing... but who took him? And why? Will they get him back before he snaps completely? Rated for lots of character abuse and language.
1. Prologue: Regrets

**A/N: Alright everyone, how's it going? I'm terribly sorry that i haven't uploaded anything in a while. If you didn't know all ready I am a terrible procrastinator, and I take a while to think things out. But (I'm hoping) this will be my first full-length original-plotline story. This is just the prologue, and I know you're all going to hate me for it, but I still need some time to finish the ending of the first chapter, then hopefully things'll start rolling along ;) WARNING: There is going to be quite a bit of abuse in this story, physical and mental. But anyways, I'll be getting the first chapter up soon (I hope) and in the mean time, please check out some of my other stories, thank you :)**

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Face POV:

There were no words to describe what I was feeling, just pain; coursing, burning, radiating pain that charred my heart and my soul.

I had done…things. Things I wasn't real proud of before… but nothing like this.

My cons were harmless, no one ever got hurt, but now… Now I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face. I just stared in horror as BA and Hannibal dashed towards the center of the room. I couldn't believe it; I had killed one of my closest friends…

_Oh my God... Murdock... I'm so sorry…_

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**A/N: Haha, oh I'm evil with cliff hangers. I'm sorry to do this to you. But hey, your hooked now, right? ;) Again, terribly sorry. I'll update ASAP, I promise. Thanks for reading, IYD24**


	2. Chapter 1: Road Trip Gone Bad

**A/N: Alright, here's my first chapter. I'm thinking that this whole story is going to be 3rd person omniscient, which is new for me, but hopefully it will work! Thanks for all your support guys! IYD24**

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**Chapter 1: Road Trip Gone Bad**

Face checked the rear-view mirror as the convertible cruised down the road bordering 90 miles per hour, 'no one in sight in front or behind us… good' he thought. The sun was setting on them as Face looked to his right and smiled at the man singing along the radio beside him,

"_Doctor, Doctor, gimme the news. I gotta bad case of lovin' you! No pill's gonna cure my ill, I gotta bad case of looovin' yooou!"_

Murdock's cap almost flew off as he bounced his head to the rhythm in such an outrageous fashion that Face couldn't help but laugh.

They had been driving for a while, after getting Murdock out of the VA they took the long way home to enjoy some of the scenery. The hours rolled past at evening turned into night, until eventually they pulled up to a gas station in the middle of virtually nowhere. The two men walked inside to find a lone cashier standing behind the desk, reading some tabloid magazine and chewing gum. Murdock's eyes lit up as he ran through the store, grabbing various chips and candies. The cashier looked up, startled by the sudden entrance and watched as Face got a single can of Monster while Murdock bounced up, his arms full of food and drinks.

"Thank you so, so much Facey!" He said with a lopsided grin. Face nodded and looked back at the cashier, who eyed Murdock with a warily glance.

"Um, with that be all for you sir?" He asked nervously.

"Not unless you got any guns for sale muchacho. My amigo and I would greatly appreciate any spare rifle you got layin' around," Murdock answered with an evil twinkle in his eye.

"Murdock…" Face warned.

"Um… sir? Could you please wait outside?" The cashier asked as Murdock started to sing again, "Is he with you?" the cashier looked at Face. Face ran his hand through his head, slightly embarrassed,

"Yeah, Murdock… why don't you just go wait outside?" Face sighed, trying to keep calm. Murdock pouted a bit, but after grumbling something about a communist bloc he pushed through the doors and started to walk over by the car. He was just about to jump over the door when he heard a noise coming from behind him. Murdock froze; he couldn't imagine many people that would be traveling on the road at 3 am. He started to turn around when a man jumped out from behind the car, pointing a gun at him.

Murdock quickly dived at the man, trying to wrestle the gun from him when three more guys jumped out, one of them quickly taking a pipe to the back of Murdock's head. Murdock went limp as the four of them carried him to a very well-concealed black van behind the store. They tossed Murdock in the back and sped off just as Face walked outside, his arms full of junk food. Face looked around, not seeing anyone or anything but the red convertible.

"Murdock?" He called out. No response.

'_Great, just what I need. Now let's play 'find Murdock at 3 in the morning.' _He thought grumpily. After emptying the bags into the trunk of the car, he began to walk around, looking for the crazy pilot.

"Murdock? Come on man, we don't have time to screw around. We need to go!" He yelled. Again no response; Face was beginning to feel bad about sending Murdock outside; he had just wanted to get through one social interaction without people staring at him. It made him feel sad and pissed off at the same time, seeing the way people looked at Murdock. Whenever he started talking funny Face would always catching people giving him sideways glances, rolling their eyes, or the worst, just looking at him like he was an idiot. He just wanted to scream '_Hey! He's a smart, kind, genuine person! If you went through what he did you'd be ten times worse!' …_Or just punch them in the face, he could never decide which. Nevertheless, he did feel bad; he didn't want Murdock to be hiding from him.

"Murdock?" He called as he started to go behind the store, "Murdock I'm sorry about what I said, I didn't mean to treat you like a kid. Let's just move past it, everyone fights, right? Come on, if we're not there by sunrise you know Hannibal's going to kill us!" he smirked at the last part; he and Murdock were always late. Still nothing, as he turned the corner something caught his eyes on the ground.

It was Murdock's hat, the green one with the eagle on the front. Face immediately started to panic; Murdock almost never took off his hat. He picked it up and turned it over, his eyes widening drastically. There was blood, a lot of blood on the back of it.

'_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. Where are you Murdock?'_ he thought as he ran back to the car clutching the hat so hard his knuckles started to turn white. Face could hear his heart beating loudly as he grabbed my cell phone out of the cup holder and dialed Hannibal as fast as he could.

_Rrrring… rrrrring… rrrring…_

'_Come on, come on, come on!" _Face thought impatiently.

"_...Face? Where the hell are you? Do you have any idea what time it is?"_ he almost collapsed with relief as he heard the Colonel's rough voice over the phone.

"Hannibal, Murdock's missing. I sent him outside for a few minutes, and when I came out he was gone." All of the anger dropped from Hannibal's tone at once,

"_Gone? What do you mean gone? Why the hell-?"_

"_Who's gone?" _he could hear B.A.'s voice in the background, sounding annoyed and impatient. Hannibal started to say something back, but Face cut in,

"Look, there's no time to explain right now," he said frantically, "meet me at a gas station a couple miles south of our hideout. I'll be there in the convertible."

"_Alright, I'll see you then,"_

"Hurry," he urged at Hannibal hung up the phone. Face slid down into the driver's seat of the car, clutching Murdock's hat, praying to God that where ever Murdock was, he was safe.


	3. Chapter 2: Oh No

**A/N: Hello! I am SO sorry that it has taken me so long to continue this, it's not abandoned I swear! I just was having some trouble getting the story to go the way I want it to. But it's all good now. I have this done and maybe if there's some lovin' reviews I could get another one up by tomorrow ) Sorry, I'm trying not to be manipulative, but when you're writing a story like this you develop a bit of a mean streak, you know? Haha. Sorry I'm rambling. Thank you EVERYONE who reviewed, you guys are the best. My day just brightens so much when I see the alerts in my inbox. **

**Here are the translated lyrics for the Italian:**

**Part 1: **

_**Look at the sea, how beautiful it is,**_

_**it inspires so many emotions,**_

_**like you do with the people you have at heart**_

_**you make them dream while they are still awake.**_

**Part 2:**

_**Look at this garden **_

_**and the scent of these oranges,**_

_**such a fine perfume**_

_**it goes straight into your heart.**_

**Anyways, here we are! Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Oh No…**

Murdock blinked. Then, after a few more seconds of listening to his head pound, blinked a few more times. After this process was repeated once more, he finally opened his eyes to see where he was. The first thing he noticed was that he was in a chair, his hat missing and he arms and ankles were uncomfortably tied. There was a dim light bulb over him, and a table with various tools next to him. If he strained his neck to the left, he could make out a wooden, rickety staircase that led to somewhere with a lot more light. The walls were extremely dirty, and the floor looked like it was just made of dirt.

"By God!" Murdock exclaimed to himself in a British accent, "We've just made a discovery! This rare, filthy temple seems to be one of mechanics!" He smiled to himself, but jumped when he heard heavy footsteps at the top of the stairs.

"He's awake, boss," The man said. Two pairs of footsteps came down the stairway as the men they belonged to came in front of Murdock. The first man, who Murdock guessed was definitely not the 'boss', looked like any other thug they had dealt with. He was very tall, probably about 6'2, with tan skin, a shaved head and huge muscles. Murdock thought he looked like the Mexican version of Mr. Clean. The other man was a bit smaller, younger, and had more of a lean figure. He looked extremely angry, and his bright green eyes were almost as piercing as Face's.

'_Well, he's no boss either, but I'm guessing he's definitely higher up on the totem pole than Senor Cleano here,' _Murdock thought to himself. The younger man leaned forward on his knees until he was no more than a foot away from Murdock.

"Where is Hannibal Smith?" He asked plainly. He tried to stare Murdock down, his green eyes piercing in the light. But Murdock leaned even closer to him, his eyes twinkling,

"I believe the more important question would be: _who,_ are _you_?" he said quietly. Then the man jumped as Murdock then threw his head back,

"_Whoooo are you? Who, who, who, who! Whoooo are you? Who, who, who-"_

The man angrily punched Murdock across the face, cutting off his singing.

"What?" Murdock said, blinking a bit more, "You don't like that song?" he looked up innocently as blood started to drip from his nose. "Well alright then, let's trying something a bit more upper-class," he smiled another crooked grin,

"_Vir 'o mare quant'è bello, ispira tantu sentimento... comme tu a chi tiene a' mente, ca scetato 'o faie sunnà..." _The man looked at Murdock in disbelief, before punching him in the face again. This time Murdock decided to just keep his head down, working his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken. The younger man walked to the base of the stairs and called up,

"Who is this guy, boss? Are you sure he's with them? This man doesn't look like he'd know his own name, let alone a team of corporate operatives!" Murdock picked his head up at that,

'_This is about the team?'_ He wondered, '_Who are these guys?'_ He heard a third pair of shoes come down the creaky staircase. These steps were much more patient, more sinister that Sr. Cleano or the other guy's steps had been. Murdock's heart rate began to speed up as the man slowly walked in front of him, holding a small black device. This man was average height, had well-combed hair and a bit of a stubble, '_Like Facey'_ Murdock thought. He seemed to be in his late 30's, early 40's, and was dressed in a clean pink shirt with a sports jacket and matching pants. This man was definitely the boss.

"Alright," The man said in a very low voice as he stood in front of Murdock, "Where is the rest of the A-Team?" Murdock's eyes widened for a second before he smiled. He decided to treat this man like any other scumbag they'd dealt with, which usually consisted of annoying them until they just gave up.

"You know, I was just wondering that, and I thought, 'Well, if they're not available at this moment, would they send a B team? Would it just keep going down the alphabet?' I can imagine the Z team folks don't get much work, bein' at the end and all, but that's alright, I'm sure they understand, sometimes you just gotta be-"

Murdock was cut off as a pipe smacked him across the face, rendering him silent. Murdock cringed as blood filled up his mouth and started dripping out the corner of his lips. His head swam as he tried to keep his vision straight. He looked up at the man as he threw the pipe back onto the table next to him.

"Listen punk, I'm not in the mood to screw around. Now we can do this the easy way, or the hard way, but either way this conversation is going to end with you telling me where the A-Team is." Murdock looked up at him slowly; and, not being able to think up a nice comeback, stuck his bloody tongue out at the man.

"So the hard way then," The man sighed, running his fingers over the various tools on the table that Murdock noticed were also all quite sharp. The man picked up a very small, thin blade. He walked around behind Murdock, leaning in close to his ear,

"Every man has his breaking point Mr. Murdock, we're just have to keep going until we find yours," He drew the blade up Murdock's arm, drawing a shallow cut up until his elbow. Murdock winced, but tried to keep calm; he didn't want to give the man the satisfaction of seeing him in pain.

"Well then I guess you're just outta luck then," Murdock whispered, "I got pushed past my breaking point years ago, made me the singin' happy-go-lucky man I am today," He grinned, picking his head up more. The man just simply stood with his back to him,

"Oh right, you're the lunatic pilot that lost his mind in the war. Such a shame too, I heard the asylums they took you too were… less than friendly back then," Murdock sucked in a breath as memories from the mental hospitals flooded back. He didn't want to think about those places again, ever.

"Now then Mr. Murdock, let's go make ourselves a bit more comfortable, shall we? Bring him in," The man ordered as he walked over to a coat rack, pulling on a large fur coat as Murdock was picked up, chair and all , and carried over to a large metal door by the big man. The younger man opened the large bolt as Senor Cleano carried Murdock inside.

The room was extremely cold, like a freezer, and had hooks hanging down from it; a meat locker. The man sat down on a bench on one wall of the room while Murdock's ankles were untied and his bound wrists were hung over one of the hooks, so that he was almost suspended in the air. Murdock felt extremely vulnerable as the big man tore off what was left of his shirt, leaving his chest and back exposed to the cold and whatever this man had in store.

"Now then, time to have a little fun." The man crossed his legs as Murdock heard the big guy setting something up behind him as the young man walked in with a whip twisted around his hands.

"I asked you where the A-Team was, and your answer would be?" The man looked at him expectantly. Murdock just closed his eyes; he didn't want to be here, he wanted to be back with the team. But he couldn't tell the man where they were, that was out off the question. He was getting scared, and he didn't like his eyes being open when he got scared.

The man heard Murdock whispering something very softly. He walked up to the pilot, expecting to hear the man finally give them some answers. He leaned in and just barely heard what Murdock was saying:

"…_Guarda qua chistu ciardino;__ siente, sie' sti sciure arance: nu profumo accussi fino, dinto 'o core se ne va…"_

Murdock kept singing to himself, softly, but with a slightly smug grin on his face. The man growled in frustration, shoving his hands through his hair and motioning to the young man. He sat down roughly as the man made his way behind Murdock.

The young man, which Murdock was thinking looked more and more like an evil version of Face, unrolled his whip. Murdock's breathing sped up as he started to get scared, really scared. Murdock knew the guys would find him eventually, he trusted them. His only worry was that there were more men here than he was seeing, and that the guys would be outnumbered. Senor Cleano alone could give BA a real run for his money.

_Snap!_

Murdock let out a half-strangled yelp as the whip slashed across his back. He hadn't been expecting it, and Evil Face had caught him off-guard. The whip snapped against him again, and this time he resisted letting out a sound, clenching his teeth and gripping the ropes tied to his wrists. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears falling down as the whip cracked again and again, leaving Murdock's back a bloody mess. Eventually Murdock passed out from the pain, hanging limply on the hook. The boss got out his black device again, a very small camera, and snapped a picture of Murdock before exiting the room. The young man followed obediently, while the big man stayed in the meat locker in case Murdock woke up. The boss tossed the camera to the young man,

"Why don't you print that out and leave back at the gas station? I'm sure the boys are worried sick about their precious pilot," He chuckled. The young man looked at him, confused,

"Why don't we just capture them at the gas station if you're sure that's where they are?"

"Because not all of them are there yet; if my calculations are correct, and if I have any idea of where they are, the only one that should at the gas station is Peck."

The young man's eyes narrowed into slits at Face's name, snarling in anger. He gripped the camera tightly in his hands, and started towards the stairs after his boss.

"But, boss? How do I get it to Peck without him noticing? And what do we do once we know where they are?" He called up to him.

"I don't know, be creative," The man said, "I'm giving you the job of getting the A-Team here. I'll help you with whatever you want, but luring was supposed to be your part of the plan. After they step through the doorway, _then_ they're my problem." He walked up the stairs at slammed to door closed, leaving Evil Face in the scarcely-lit room.

'_Be creative,'_ the young man thought with a smirk, _'This is going to be so much fun.' _Dark thoughts pervaded his mind as he slowly made his way back to the freezer, already hearing screams of pain echo through the basement.

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**A/N: Oh, and here's the songs that are in Chapters 1 & 2, I forgot to list it in the previous chapter:**

**Chapter 1: Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) -Robert Palmer**

**Chapter 2: Who Are You? -The Who**

**Torna a Surriento -Ernesto De Curtis (English title: Come Back To Sorrento)**

**Thanks as always for reading! IYD24**


	4. Chapter 3: I'ma Kill That Fool

**A/N: If you haven't noticed already, thoughts and songs are both italicized, but songs have ("/") while thoughts are ('/'). Sorry if I've caused any confusion, I try to acknowledge whenever it's someone's thoughts. **

**Oh, and now we have writing as well, with is just italics with no ("/') stuff like that, just plain slanted. So now we're up to: **_"Singing"_**,**_ 'Thoughts'_**, and **_writing _**haha**_. _**Hope it's not too confusing.**

**And I have some stuff to say to those non-account reviewers that I can't message ;)**

**A-Team- Thanks you so much haha. Can I use "beat them into next year"? That made me laugh so much xD**

**YEO- Yes I do remember you, and I greatly appreciate your reviews, they mean a lot to me :) I'm so glad you enjoy my stories.**

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3: I'ma Kill That Fool…**

Hannibal clutched the handle as BA sped down the road at over twice the legal limit, pushing the van as fast as it could possibly go. Hannibal almost regretted telling him _who_ was missing _and_ where they needed to be. Hannibal was lucky that he even got into the van in time before BA dropped everything and started up the engine, not caring about whatever they were doing. Thoughts of Murdock ran through BA's mind; situations the pilot could have gotten himself into, things that could happen to him, people that could have found them, where Murdock could be.

Finally, they saw the florescent lighting of the gas station with Face's bright red convertible near the curb. To Hannibal's disbelief, BA actually managed to go faster, and then screeched to a final halt just inches away from the general store. BA jumped out of his vehicle, jogging over to the Lieutenant as he stepped out of his car. BA stopped right in front of him, glaring at him with a stare that could make a large army turn and run away like school girls.

"Where's Murdock?" He growled, anger already starting to seep in at Face's hesitance. Face didn't know what to tell the big guy; he didn't want him to overreact, but he didn't dare lie to him.

"Well, I was, sort of, um…" Face stammered, suddenly very frightened of BA's furious gaze and Hannibal's worried glance as he got a cigar out of his jacket pocket.

"Listen fool! I ain't got no patience for you right now. Either you tell me where Murdock is or I read it offa your brains," Face was surprised at BA's threat, BA hardly ever gave out serious threats to his fellow teammates, except Murdock of course. He tried getting his sporadic thoughts in order enough to please the towering man,

"Listen, Murdock and I had decided to stop for some food. He was starting to upset the store manager, so I sent him outside to wait for me in the car. When I came out, I couldn't find him anywhere, I looked all around the gas station, and all I could find was this," Face warily handed Hannibal Murdock's cap, the now-dried blood caked on the back of it. Hannibal's face darkened as he turned it over in his hands, exposing the dark red in the dim lighting.

BA snatched the hat out of Hannibal's hands, gazing at it in disbelief. Face couldn't help but back up a bit, he didn't want to be in the way of Bosco Baracus, not now. BA walked over to the wall of the store, staring at Murdock's cap. He stared off into space with an almost-resigned look on his face before slamming his fist into the wall, making several cracks and causing both of the other men to jump. BA inhaled deeply, trying to keep his temper under control.

'_Damn it Murdock,' _He thought, '_Where the hell are you?'_

Hannibal walked over to him, placing a hand on BA's massive shoulder,

"It's alright Sergeant, we'll bring him back," Face winced as he thought of the last time he heard the Colonel say those words. Murdock had been taken away from them then too, but at least back then they knew were he was. Now they were completely lost, Face had no idea where to even start looking for him. Hannibal turned towards Face,

"Alright Peck," Face was very surprised at Hannibal calling him by his surname, he never did that unless he was very focused, "Now I need you to remember everything you saw when you and Murdock first pulled up to the gas station. Were there any other cars there? Any trucks or karts?" Face closed his eyes and thought back a few hours. He saw the gas station, the promising bright lights inside. He remembered nudging Murdock's shoulder, a bit guilty about waking him up not long after Murdock had finally fallen asleep, but they needed food. He remembered walking past the gas pump, looking around for signs of anyone following them…

"I don't think so Colonel," Face said slowly.

"Think harder," Hannibal ordered, rendering the young man's first answer as unacceptable; there had to be something, there always was. Face thought even harder about walking up to the store, looking around.

"Wait, I think… I think there might have been a black van on the side of the store," The Lieutenant finally said, his face scrunched up in concentration. His memories were a bit fuzzy from lack of sleep, but he thought he could just see the outline of a big, black vehicle.

"Good, very good, what make?" Hannibal pressed on.

"Um…Mercedes I think," Face thought he might have just glanced as the light reflected the silver symbol on the front, "Yeah, a Mercedes. The, uh, the uh, the, the… Sprinter! Yeah that was it, Mercedes Sprinter." Face smiled at his accomplishment, happy that he could remember such details from his peripheral vision. But his face fell as he realized that that really didn't get them anywhere.

"Alright, so now we at least know what type of car they drive, or at least one of the cars they drive," Hannibal thought out loud before taking another puff of his cigar. He watched the first rays of the dawn come up as he pondered scenarios over and over in his head.

"And… how exactly does that help us?" Face asked. Hannibal was about to answer when a man walked, well rather pushed, through them, mumbling an apology as he turned around the corner of the store, grumbling something about taking the morning shift at a gas station. The men didn't think anything of it until Face noticed a small envelope on the sidewalk. He bent down and picked it up, walking over to the side of the building,

"Sir? I think you dropped something, sir…?" Face called out, but as he turned the corner, there was no one there. _'Well that's weird,' _He thought as he walked back over to the guys, looking down at the yellow envelope. He turned it over and to he astonishment, found nothing but a name in big, crawly letters:

_Hannibal Smith_

"Hannibal…" Face said softly as he handed the package over to him. Hannibal took the package into his hands, beginning to tear the seal off.

"Hannibal, wait!" BA held his hand up, "We don't know what could be in there,"

"Come on BA, would they really go to the trouble of taking one of our men just to blow the rest of us up?" Hannibal inquired. BA sighed and lower his head in defeat, Hannibal tore the envelope open the rest of the way. He turned it upside down and two items fell out, a piece of paper and a photo. Hannibal read the letter first:

_Dear Mr. Smith,_

_I do hope that by this time you've realized one of you men is missing. It is my deepest regret to inform you that they are not exactly in good hands. My colleagues and I are skilled in the ways of extracting information, and one way or another we will find you and your team. Hopefully though, you can make is easier on everyone and simply come to us instead. Meet behind the courthouse in the town down the road at exactly 7:00 PM to pick up your next piece of information. Be quick though, your friend cannot wait forever._

_Oh, and to give you some reassurance that you friend is indeed alive, I've enclosed a sort-of visual representation of the direness of the situation. __Don't be late__._

Face watched Hannibal read through the letter twice before flipping to the picture that was in the envelope. His reaction, though, was quite unexpected. He looked at the picture for a second, his eyes growing wide in fear. Hannibal's hands started trembling and before he could help it, he dropped the picture, unable to keep a grip on it anymore. Hannibal stepped to the side, trying to take control of his breath as he looked at the sun, running a hand through his short grey hair. Tears started to well up in his aged eyes as for once you could see his true age. Face just stared, dumbfounded, between his CO and the picture that had fallen on the ground. He turned to a worried BA, before kneeling on the ground and picking up the picture, turning it over once more.

He gasped; it was Murdock. He was shirtless, hanging limply by a hook in what looked like a freezer. His eyes were closed; large amounts of blood came down his nose, mouth, and above his eyebrows. His torso looked bruised and he had a long cut on his right arm. BA sucked in a breath beside him as he looked at the picture, taking in Murdock's beaten form.

"I'm gonna kill him, that fool's gonna pay for what he did!" He shouted, pacing in no apparent direction, clenching and unclenching his fists in a desperate need to hit something, anything. Hannibal didn't seem to notice, and if he did notice he didn't care, he just kept staring off into space. Face continued to stare at the picture, his throat tightening to the point where he couldn't make a sound. He felt lost; for once he didn't have a witty remark, he didn't have a confident smile, he didn't feel like he had anything at all now.

'_Please Murdock, come back to us. We need you, more than you know…'_

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**A/N: A thousand internet hugs to whoever caught my shamless story reference ;)**

**Please, please review! That's the only way I know people are still reading haha. IYD24**


	5. Chapter 4: Forming a Plan Quickly

**A/N: The song in the beginning is "Unwell" by Matchbox Twenty. The song just fits Murdock so well. I listened to it by chance while Murdock was still fresh in my mind, and literally started crying. PLEASE check it out, it really is a great song, it was on the radio constantly when I was younger. Sorry, I'm getting off topic. Thanks everyone for reviewing :) **

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**Chapter 4: Forming A Plan…Quickly**

Eventually BA calmed down enough to get back into the van, Hannibal following him, trying to regain his composure. Hannibal had often thought of the men as sons, since none of them had really had fathers. And now one of his sons was missing, and it was tearing Hannibal apart. The fact that anyone could actually hurt Murdock astonished him; Murdock was so innocent, it would be like harming a child. He felt partially responsible for the pilot, and knowing that he was being kept somewhere, alone and injured, made him wish that he was in the man's place, anyone but him. Murdock didn't deserve this; he had already been through enough.

The radio fuzzed in and out of stations as the van sped down the road. Face had left the convertible at a garage near their hideout, since he felt it would be better if they all stayed together. He gave the owner enough money to last a week, but to be honest, Face wasn't planning on going back to get it at all. The car was scammed; it would only be a couple more days before the dealership realized he had taken it. The radio came into better reception as they drove into town, the sounds of acoustic guitars filling the van.

"_All day, staring at the ceiling, making friends with shadows on my wall…"_

'_Damn it,'_ thought BA, _'it really had to be this song? Out of all the songs on this station?'_

"_All night, hearing voices telling me that I should get some sleep, because tomorrow might be good for something…"_

Face stiffened as he recognized the song. He shuddered; it felt like fate was playing some cruel joke on them right now. He didn't want to change the song though; he didn't want to seem like the emotional wreck.

"_Hold on…feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown, and I don't know why…"_

Hannibal sucked in a breath, trying to stop hyperventilating. He knew that just curling up in a ball and crying was not going to solve anything or make anything better, even if it's what seemed appropriate at the time.

"_But I'm not crazy; I'm just a little unwell. I know, right now you can't tell, but stay a while and maybe then you'll see a different side of me._

_I'm not crazy; I'm just a little impaired. I know, right now you don't care. But soon enough you're gonna think of me, and how I used to be…me…"_

BA was about one sad line away from pummeling the radio, but he tried to keep cool. _'I gotta be strong, for the others.'_ He thought.

"_Talking to myself in public, dodging glances on the train…"_

Face could no longer keep the memories from flooding back at him. Being with Murdock at the gas station, that look the cashier had given him. He didn't even know where BA was going by now, but he just wanted to stop. All he could think about was Murdock, how to find him, how to save him, just… him. The song went on relentlessly,

"_And I know, I know they've all been talkin' 'bout me. I can hear them whisper, and it makes me think there must be something wrong… with me…"_

Hannibal bit his tongue as a tear rolled down his face against his will.

"_Out of all the hours thinking; somehow, I've lost my mind…"_

The chorus repeated again, sending all of the men in the van even deeper into depression. They knew they were being saps, but this was their best friend they were talking about. Even as the tears started to come, each one of them knew that when they found these bastards it would take every ounce of their restraint to not kill them on the spot.

"_I've been talking in my sleep… "_

Face cringed, remembering Murdock's conversations with himself, in the middle of the night.

"_Pretty soon they'll come to get me… yeah they're taking me away-"_

BA slammed his fist into the radio, cutting off the rest of the song. He just could take it anymore; a song would NOT be making Bosco Baracus cry, not in this lifetime. He screeched to halt on the side of the road, turning towards the Colonel,

"All right Hannibal, now you better have some crazy-ass plan thought out in your head by now, because I can't take much more of these songs," BA looked Hannibal dead in the eyes, pretending not to notice the tears in them. Hannibal cleared his throat before quietly continuing,

"As a matter of fact BA, I do." Hannibal took a deep breath and then went into leader mode,

"Alright, we know that they have Murdock, and that they're not adverse to torture. This means that we need to get our man out of there are soon as possible. Now since none of us want to go to jail, we know right now that we're not going to be following whatever demands they may have, even if they threaten Murdock's life."

"What?" Face shouted in disbelief, "What do mean even if-"

"Let me finish Lieutenant. We're not going to comply with any amount of threats they give us. We'll meet them behind the courthouse at the specified time, get out, and discuss the situation like rational men." Hannibal looked over at BA for the last part, noticing the man's fists clenching as he gave out was sounded like a growl.

"We need to make sure that they don't think we're up to anything. Face, you'll need to be on top of your game. Face and I will confront the men there, we need to seem like we're weaker than they are-"

"Which of course we're not," BA chipped in, _'Especially since it's one of our own they're threatening,'_ He added mentally.

"Right. Now while Face and I talk it over with the men there, you need to, as stealthily as you can, hook up a tracking device to the bottom of any and all vehicles they might decide to bring to this confrontation. Face and I will try to extract any clues to who they might be and where they might be keeping Murdock. Then once they leave we'll hide the van somewhere, get a rental car, and follow them back to their hideout." Hannibal was actually smiling by the time he finished explaining the plan, he really had a good feeling about this.

"This all sounds great, but what do we do once we get to their hideout? We have no idea what we're dealing with or how many of them there are," Face pointed out.

"We'll get weapons in town before the confrontation. We go into the hideout, find Murdock, and overpower any other men that are there," Hannibal said it like they were just walking through the park to get ice cream.

"We just 'overpower' them… how exactly do we go about doing that?" Face asked.

"We're the A-Team, we'll figure something out," Hannibal said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He was already back on the jazz, there was no denying it.

'_But this is __Murdock__ we're talking about…' _Face thought warily, but he shrugged it off, deciding not to argue with Hannibal any longer. _'If feeling like everything would go down without a hitch is what gets the man back on his feet, then by all means let him think that.'_

BA started the engine back up, and they spent the day rolling around town, memorizing every store, every alleyway, every mailbox they could. They needed to now the area like the back of their hands if they were going to efficiently follow the men after the confrontation. They got weapons; they found a place to scam a car that was less ostentatious than the van.

BA hoped that once they got out of the hideout they'd be able to make it back out to where they were stashing his baby without any difficulty; it was a good half-mile walk from town. They stopped by the rental car shop once they made it back to town; purchasing (or rather scamming) a nice, small car that wouldn't stand out if it was the only one on the road. They hid it behind a run-down bar that was close to where they'd picked it up, then they all piled into the van again and head for the courthouse.

Hannibal would never tell BA or Face this, but he was terrified of what they would find once they arrived at the kidnapper's hideout. He knew that if they got there too late… he didn't think he'd be able to take it. They drove in silence, all of them knowing what the other was thinking about, what they had been thinking about all day: the plan. BA wanted to find them so that he could pound every single one of them into next year, Face wanted to find them and get back his one and only best friend, Hannibal just wanted to get in and out with everyone intact.

'_Fuck, just wait till I get my hands on those fools…'_

'_Please, let us get there in time, I can't lose him…'_

'_God save us…'_

Worry after worry, thought after thought ran through their minds as they pulled up behind the courthouse at exactly 6:50 PM and waited. They knew the plan, they each knew what the other wanted, and they were determined to make this work in whatever way possible.

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**A/N: Hope the song didn't make the beginning scene TOO mushy, I tried to keep it tough by adding some BA rage in there. I hope you all liked it, please please review! Thanks so much for reading as always ;) IYD24**


	6. Chapter 5: Darkness

**A/N: Alright, now this is going to be the chapter that you all are going to hate me for. I'm sorry, I just really needed to have it in there, it has relevance later on. Thanks so much for your reviews. I was like a lot of you guys with the song Unwell; I'd heard it countless time, but I'd never really HEARD it heard it. Anywho, current chapter, read on! ;)**

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**Chapter 5: Darkness**

Pain.

That's the only thing that was consistent.

No matter how many different forms it came in, (and there seemed to be a lot) it was always there.

And Murdock knew he couldn't escape it.

He screamed out (he had given up trying to remain silent a long time ago) as shocks ran up his body, sending him into convulsions. The big man walked in front of him slowly, his massive form making Murdock tremble.

"Pick up your head!" He shouted. Murdock didn't move. He didn't take orders from meanies like him.

"I said pick it UP!" The man yelled louder, punching Murdock in the face… again. Murdock cringed, slowly lifting up his head. He couldn't really see anything though, his eyes were bruised and swollen and his dirty hair hung low over his brow. He could just make out the young man standing at the back of the room, holding something silver and grinning. Murdock dropped his head again, that was nothing new. The man would come in periodically, just watching and grinning, like it was all a big surprise party.

But that thought ceased to matter to Murdock as the whip was brought down upon him once again. Murdock arched his scarred back as he yelled out. It felt like his back was on fire. The men didn't show mercy though (he never did) and repeated two or three times. Murdock didn't count anymore, it was all just a blur of darkness,

Darkness and pain.

He felt the stabs of metal into his back and was able to prepare himself for about half a second before the electricity trekked up his spine, the buzzing noises almost drowned out by his screams. Once the spasms were over he hung limply on the hook where he'd been tied up for God-knows how long. He had a feeling that one of his arms was out of its socket by now, but that didn't matter.

Nothing mattered.

The young man came up to him, saying words that Murdock didn't care to hear. When he wasn't smiling the young man was able to throw some fairly effective insults his way. Murdock had learned to drown them out. The man kept talking, and then gripped his hand around Murdock's chin as he lifted his face up to the silver device. Murdock opened his eyes, deciding that whatever was going on it was worth being conscious for. He saw himself in a dark, distorted circle. _'Am I dead?'_ he thought, he dearly wished he was.

But no, the man stayed with him, drawing a knife and slicing across Murdock's bare stomach. Murdock winced, but didn't make a sound. The man, unsatisfied with Murdock's lack of response, then proceeded to punch Murdock hard in the gut, smiling as the pilot let out a gurgled grunt. He said some more words; but Murdock was almost unconscious by then, so he didn't listen anymore. He liked it better when he was unconscious, even though he usually felt worse when he woke up again.

His mind swam through pain-filled darkness as shadows, ghosts of people he once knew, passed him by. He'd long forgotten who they were, or why they mattered, but he desperately wanted to be with them for reasons he didn't even know. One man in particular, a young man with dark brown hair and unbelievably blue eyes. Murdock couldn't tell who this man was, or if he was even real, but when he thought of him he was almost always filled with a sense of serenity and protection, so Murdock decided he must be a good thing.

Murdock was brought back to the surface abruptly as a burning pain coursed through his stomach. He clenched his fists and howled, scrunching up his eyes. The pain was unbelievable; somehow it managed to top everything, except for maybe the electrocution. He looked down, panting, and noticed a large white bandage around his torso, soaked in whatever was making every breath seem like he had swallowed a red-hot poker. He sighed, just wanting it all to be over; he just wanted to pass out again.

He felt his breath hitch as tears fell from his eyes, running down his bruised and broken face. Tears came less often than the pain, but they brought little relief to him anymore. The man came up behind and pulled his hair back gruffly. Murdock was met by himself again, staring at the dark circle. He couldn't stop crying, and figured that whatever it was, it would just cause him pain later. The man released Murdock's hair, letting him hang lifelessly on the metal hook. He said a few more words, and then exited the room.

Murdock passed into darkness without trouble now, and felt only dull points of pain, usually around his chest and stomach. He didn't want to wake up anymore, ever. He wanted to stay here with his ghosts,, the only things that felt remotely inviting to him anymore.

He didn't want to surface again, he just wanted the pain to going away; he just wanted everything to go away…

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**A/N: Sorry it's so short, hopefully the next couple chapters will make up for it. Pretty please review! Thanks a million :) IYD24**


	7. Chapter 6: Definitely Didn't Expect That

**A/N: I thought I'd upload a bit quicker than usual, since my last chapter was pretty darn short. I usually try and keep a chapter in-between what I'm posting and what I'm writing, so please bare with me while I try and get those writing juices flowin' for the next one. Thanks for your reviews, I love hearing from you guys!

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**Chapter 6: Definitely Didn't Expect That**

Hannibal stiffened as he saw the Mercedes Sprinter come around the corner of the courthouse, stopping a good ten or twenty feet away. Two men stepped out, one a huge, hefty man that looked like he could bench press more than Hannibal weighed. The other a younger, good-looking man, with gleaming green eyes and a smug smile that BA desperately which he could punch off of his face.

"BA, stick with the plan. Wait until we engage them, then go around the courthouse and under their van," Hannibal recapped. He saw two more men inside the black van, but he didn't think they'd be able to notice anything. After all, it was a pretty big truck.

"Alright, are we going to just stand around all day or are you going to come out and talk to us?" The younger man yelled. Hannibal opened his door and jumped onto the dirt and sand. He heard Face do the same on the other side and walked up to the two men, leaving about seven feet in between them. The younger man smiled,

"Templeton Peck. Long time, no see, huh?" Hannibal turned to Face, confused. Face stared at the man in disbelief before his eyes grew wide. _'Those eyes, that voice…' _Face knew him!

"Scotty?" He whispered softly.

"That's right, in the flesh." Scotty lifted his arms up, as if he was presenting himself.

"Face, who is this?" Hannibal asked worriedly. If Face knew him, that could cause serious conflicts later on.

"We… we lived together in the orphanage. He was my roommate…" Face gaped at the man standing before him. He never thought he would see him again, and now he was less than three yards away. Something didn't make sense though, how could he know?

"Wait… you knew… you knew Murdock was on our team… you knew I was a part of this the whole time?" Face couldn't put together what this meant.

"Sure did." Scotty crossed his arms, waiting for Face to catch up with present times.

"But then why… why would you do this? How could you do this me? We were best friends for God's sake!" Hannibal watched Face carefully as he started to get a frantic look in eyes, one that the Colonel had seen on Murdock far too many times.

"Oh yeah, sure, _friends_…"The man sneered, "You know what I was doing while you were off conning the nuns to give you a bigger room? Mopping floors, sweeping chimneys, getting beaten with freaking broomsticks like the rest of us!" He was yelling by now, "You thought you could just smile and everything would go your way! Well guess who's smiling now 'friend'?" Scotty asked, amused by Face's shocked features, relieved to finally get that off of his chest.

"So-so you did all of this… just to get back at me?" Face asked, feeling a stab in his heart for what had become of the only person from his childhood that he had considered a friend.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," The man scoffed, "I'm not the head honcho in this operation. Trust me, if I was the one calling the shots, it'd be you in that basement instead of that singing idiot you call a pilot." BA fumed, barely hearing the man as he watched the scene from behind the Sprinter. _'Man,'_ he thought, _'If we were the only ones in the alley…' _The thought made him smile a bit as he shimmied under the van and started hooking up the tracker. Hannibal caught a glimpse of BA under Evan's van, trying to remain unfazed by the whole confrontation, which was going in a completely different direction that he had thought.

"No, when Mr. Lombardi came to me, looking for someone to help him catch the infamous A-Team, he showed me the files of information that he had on each team member. You can imagine my surprise when you came up, I always thought you'd grow up to be a salesman or a thief, with conning skills like yours. But alas, I digress… let's just say I took the job with little hesitation, and here we are." Scotty shrugged, seeming to be at the end of his little autobiography for the last few weeks.

"Please… I just want my friend back…" Face pleaded.

"You lost your friend a long time ago, why would you want him back now?" Scotty inquired, obviously enjoying Face's torment.

"He didn't mean you, you pathetic little drama queen," Hannibal snapped, "Now where the hell is our pilot?" He had had enough of this. He didn't care who this man was, either he was giving Murdock back or he was going to wish he was dead. Scotty raised an eyebrow at the old man, surprised by his sudden outburst. He paused a few more seconds before answering,

"He's in the basement of a house that my boss and I recently overtook. I won't give you the exact address though,"

"Why not?" Hannibal asked, frustrated with the arrogant man.

Scotty seemed appalled, "Well because that would take the fun out of everything! Watch this," The man pulled a small video camera out of his leather jacket, tossing towards Hannibal, "It'll tell you everything you need to know. See you at about… 2 a.m.?" Scotty looked at his watch in the light of the street lamp, noticing for the first time how dark it had gotten during their little conversation.

"Why give us all that time?" Face asked.

"Because it doesn't matter what time I say, you'll be there right when we want you." Scotty answered with a smirk, climbing back into the van with the big man that hadn't said a word the entire time. BA managed to scramble out from under the vehicle just as it started backing up, taking off down the street.

BA ran back over to where Hannibal was turning the camera over in his hands, pondering everything the man had said to them.

"I don't like this Hannibal," Face said, "It just screams 'trap'."

"Well, we really don't have a choice now do we?" Hannibal answered, walking over to the van and opening the rear door, sitting on the floor of the vehicle as Face got in behind him, BA just looming over the both of them, a scowl on his face. Hannibal flipped open the camera, turning the screen and pressing the little 'play' button.

All three men cringed at the image in front of them. It was Murdock, hanging from the meat hook by his wrists. He looked even worse than before, his torso was bloody and his shaggy hair was all over the place. They heard a faint voice in the background,

"_Pick your head up!"_

Murdock didn't respond, making all three men fear the worst.

"I said pick it up!" The large man now walked into the frame, landing a hard punch on Murdock's right eye. BA growled, but kept his eyes locked on the screen. The big man walked off again as Murdock bleakly lifted his head, looking at the screen for a second before dropping it again. _'He looks so weak…'_ Face fought back curses as a new voice emitted from the camera.

"Hello A-Team, I trust that my good boy Scotty has talked with you by now, caught you up on everything. As you can see here, your pilot is… alive to say the least. I warn you though; you might not want him back after we're done with him…" The man trailed off as the big man came behind Murdock with a whip. Face gasped, _'No, no, no, no, no…'_

Face felt his heart tear in two as the whip cracked down against Murdock's back, a scream of pain erupting from the hanging pilot's lips. The man brought back his arm, sending the whip down on Murdock as he screamed again, louder. This wasn't like him, even if he was being tortured he wouldn't want to show it, Murdock never wanted people to know if he was in pain, not even his friends. Hannibal gasped as he saw the man stab a taser into Murdock's back, sending his body into convulsions, his cries of pain growing more and more hysterical. The sound cut off as he fell motionless once more. The man with the camera walked forward, zooming in on Murdock's face.

"Little ass has been giving me nothing except for a few song lyrics every once in a while. You've raised one cocky little son of a bitch." None of them missed the frustrated tone in the man's voice. Under any other circumstance Face would have smiled, he taught Murdock how to act when being questioned, he feel a strange sense of pride for his friend. The camera jiggled as it switched people, the big man probably taking hold of it as they saw who the mysterious voice belonged to. He was tall, Italian, with brown hair and well-developed stubble. He straightened his sports jacket, which was over a light-blue button down shirt.

"Now then," He said, looking over at Murdock's heavily beaten face, "Let's say hello to your team, shall we?" The man roughly grabbed Murdock's chin, lifting it up as the camera zeroed in. Face couldn't watch anymore, he turned his face away from the screen. Murdock's eyes flickered open, dazed, wall-eyed, and wild from getting tased. His eyes had deep bruises around them and blood was covering so much of his face that they couldn't tell where it was coming from anymore. Murdock looked at the camera through his disheveled hair before his head dropped down again.

"We've become great friends though, haven't we James?" The man looked over at Murdock's limp form for a second before drawing a knife and slicing it across Murdock's stomach, pouring out blood. Hannibal shuddered as Murdock didn't even respond to the cut, meaning he was either used to it by now or too close to unconsciousness to even care. The Italian man huffed, unsatisfied with Murdock's lack of response and drew back his arm, rolling up his sleeves to make a fist. Hannibal tuned away from the screen, but he still heard the thump and Murdock's moan of pain. _'This is…'_ Hannibal didn't even know what this was.

"That's better," The man grinned. Hannibal cursed the man with every word he knew as anger built up within his like never before.

"Oh don't worry, we'll bandage that cut right up. Nothing helps a cut heal like a salt-soaked bandage, right?" Hannibal did a double-take at that one, _salt_-soaked? _This man was crazier than Murdock._ He couldn't look away as the man wrapped the cloth around Murdock's torso. After a second Murdock began to writhe, and he woke up howling against the pain. After a moment BA heard Murdock's breath hitch as the pilot began to weep.

This cut the men as deep as it possibly could, this nearly broke them; this was something they'd never seen before.

Murdock didn't cry in front of anyone except, on the very rare occasion, Face. But Murdock started shaking as sobs racked through his body. The Italian man didn't dare and miss that, and pulled Murdock's head up by his hair, bringing his face back up to the screen. His expression was something that would be burned into the minds of the team for the rest of their lives. Murdock stared at the camera, tears streaming down his sweat and dirt-covered face; looking lost, helpless, broken. He looked so upset, like he was pleading with the camera, Face started crying himself as Murdock dropped out of the frame and the camera focused back onto the man again.

"Now, before I go, there was something else… something Scotty told me to say...hmm… What was it…? Oh right! 5228 Carrion Ct. See you soon," The man winked at the screen before it turned black. The camera shut itself off, leaving the three men in silence.

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**A/N: Sorry about the abrupt ending, the originally beginning and end point was just far too long for one chapter, over 4,000 words haha. So I had to cut it in half with the next chapter. Please, please review! Thanks for reading :) IYD24**


	8. Chapter 7: Hell Hath No Fury

**A/N: Sorry about the slight delay, but I've run into a bit of writer's block with the next chapter :/ Nothing big, just trying to smooth out the details so that it'll get where I want it to go haha. Expect a slight delay, hopefully it'll pay off though. A big thanks to Silver2018 for 'listening' to my ramblings and helping me brainstorm :) So, without further adieu...**

**Chapter 7: Hell Hath No Fury**

Hannibal looked at the small silver device for a second before standing up and throwing it against the back of the building, smashing it into a thousand pieces. He turned around, seething, shoving both hands through his hair. Face collapsed into the back of the van, tears flowing freely as he held his head in his hands._ 'Oh my God, oh my God, oh my freaking God…' _Face couldn't move anymore, he couldn't get the images of Murdock out of his mind. His screams, much more terrible than anything the Lieutenant had ever heard before, stayed in his head, blocking out any other thoughts.

And BA… BA was more confused than the rest of them. He had thought that after watching something like that, he would automatically jump into the van and go to the address, killing everything in sight. But it felt like his feet were pulled out from under him, and he couldn't even move. He stayed frozen to the spot as he thought of Murdock... one of his closest friends. He didn't even know if the man was alive anymore.

"That bastard! That son of bitch!" Hannibal yelled, blowing off steam as he paced around the alleyway. He smashed his fist again a trashcan, leaving a large dent in its side. "Damn it!" The Colonel was close to seeing red, and he briefly wondered if this was how BA felt all the time. BA was still catatonic, unable to think clearly about what was happening. He knew was he _should_ be doing, he should be swearing his ass off and speeding down the road at a hundred and fifty miles an hour, but he could barely take a step. Seeing Murdock like that… it just paralyzed him. He heard a small sniffling noise that sounded very far away, but as he started to focus he heard it again, louder. It took all of his will power to dig his way up out the emotional hole he'd been in, but he finally got out, turning towards the sounds he had heard. He looked in the van, and was almost floored again.

Face was in the corner of the van, sobbing. He was curled up in a ball with one arm around his knees and the other grasping his hair. He rocked back and forth and BA realized he was losing it; he couldn't take what was happening. His face was wet and he was sucking in breath, trying to stop himself from hyperventilating. BA took a step into the back of the van,

"Hey man, come on, you gotta pull it together. Please, for Murdock," He said softly. Face jerked his head up at Murdock's name, giving BA a stunned and confused look before bringing his head back down, looking at the floor.

"They-they just… how could they…? What they did… and Scotty! Jesus Christ Scotty… I thought he was gone, I mean- I thought…" Face stammered. BA was getting scared; it was bad enough having one crazy guy on their team, they didn't need another. BA felt the rage building up in his chest as he watched Face, the best person in the world at hiding his emotions, completely break down in the back of the van. _'How DARE they? What gives them to right to do this? Those bastards are tearing us apart!' _BA thought, followed by a series of vile and long curses that he had learned back in the city. Face caught his attention as he sniffed again, staring blankly in front of him. BA wasn't taking anymore of this, he crouched down until he was right at Face's eyes level, staring right into those bright blue eyes,

"Alright Face, now you listen up! You gotta pull yourself together right now! If we don't get to that house soon Murdock might not make it, now is that what you want?" He yelled. Face's blank expression did not change, "Huh? Is it? IT THAT WHAT YOU WANT?" BA nearly screamed in Face's face. The Lieutenant backed up against corner, eyes wide,

"N-n-n-n-no sir," He said swiftly. BA was surprised at Face calling him 'sir', but he held out a hand as he stood up. The Lieutenant took it and got up, slowly regaining his composure.

"I'm sorry man; I don't know what came over me. Something inside just… broke. It was so weird…" Face started to get that mislaid look in his eyes again as BA stared him down again, causing the Lieutenant to shift his weight uneasily, "…Sorry."

"Naw man, it's alright. You really care for him; he's your best friend." Face felt just a bit guilty about having his preferences so easy perceptible, but he couldn't deny it either. Murdock was different from the others; he was that friend that Face could go to for absolutely anything. Face's emotional epiphany was cut short however, as he and BA heard a noise come from outside. It sounded like something breaking. They both look at each other before climbing out of the van, only to find Hannibal leaning over a destroyed crate box.

BA and Face looked at each other again, confused; out of the four of them, they'd always thought Hannibal would be the least likely to lose his temper. He was always so calm and collected, if not a bit frazzled. But as the Colonel turned around, they say a blaze in his eyes that sent Face backing into the van again. BA was just getting frustrated, _'First I gotta get Face back to Earth, and now Hannibal? What am I, Sgt. NASA retriever?' _

He walked up to Hannibal, clapping a hand on the Colonel's shoulder. But before he could even register what was happening, he was on the ground, a growing pain in his arm and back, and Hannibal crouching on the ground with a hand at his throat, staring him down with a look that could melt steel. BA was not amused,

"Man, Hannibal! What the hell you doin' that for? That fool Scotty's the one you should be messin' with! Damn!" BA shoved Hannibal's hand away from his neck, pulling his legs back underneath him and standing back up. The Colonel, who was facing the wall, turned back to BA, his eyes turning apologetic.

"I'm sorry BA, I don't know what came over me… I just couldn't believe what they did. Those monsters… they should be locked up somewhere with white walls and no windows." Hannibal sighed, messing around with his hair again, something BA had come to realize he did every time he got stressed. BA didn't understand it; when he got stressed he'd usually just punch someone, but him and his CO were two _very_ different people, and BA was just grateful he was able to pick something up about the man who was usually impossible to read. BA reached out to grab Hannibal's shoulder again, but then decided against it and remained behind him,

"Come on, we ain't got time to calm ourselves down right now, we gotta find Murdock. Maybe you can use some of that kung-fu stuff on those fools once we get there," the Sergeant added with a slight grin, about all he could manage at the moment. The Colonel nodded and turned around, thanking BA with his eyes and walking back to the van, resigned and ready.

"Man Hannibal, where'd you learn to fight like that?" Face asked from the back seat, looking at Hannibal in awe.

"Out East," Hannibal replied bluntly, "From a Mr. Henri Ducard. Now, are we gonna find Murdock or what? Face, what was the address?"

"5228 Carrion Ct." Face mumbled, images from the video still hovering in his head.

"Alright, let's go kick some ass." Hannibal ordered as BA slammed on the gas pedal and they took off towards Carrion Ct., riding on high hopes and ready to do whatever it takes.

Scotty slammed through the front door, storming past the two men playing poker at the kitchen table.

"Get up, now!" He yelled, the men quickly standing up, abandoning their game. "Go stand guard out front!"

"But Mr. Harrington," The smaller one said, "I thought you said theys was commin' in through the basement."

"Not if you're not standing guard!" Scotty seethed as the men quickly grabbed their weapons and hurried outside. _'Idiots,'_ he thought. He didn't know what Mr. Lombardi bothered to hire them in the first place. _'More muscle,'_ he supposed; though if he had heard correctly it wouldn't matter if they had a thousand extra men. This was the A-Team they were dealing with after all, the best of the best.

Scotty hurried down the stairs and through the big metal doors, hoping to find his boss. If he wasn't smoking a cigar on the porch or drinking in the kitchen he was usually in the freezer with that crazy pilot. Scotty looked around, slightly relieved with locating the Italian. He was staring into the eyes of the nearly-unconscious pilot, skimming a knife under his chin,

"That's right. They're nothing you crazy moron, nothing! They don't care about you; don't you think they'd have come looking for you if they did? After all, it's been almost a week," He said with a chuckle. Scotty quickly ushered the man to follow him, "I'll be back later," Mr. Lombardi finished, and followed his right-hand man outside the freezing room.

"A week? Arty, it's barely been three days," Scotty said with a confused expression, "And there's a good chance he didn't even here you."

"I know," The man said, "But how would he know how long it's been? If I can't have him here physically I want to at least torture him mentally, that sort of thing lasts longer anyways," Scotty rolled his eyes at his perverted boss, _'The man must stay up nights thinking of new torture techniques, the mob didn't even want him interrogating people for Christ's sake!'_ He took a quick breath as he led Arty back into the large basement and out of hearing range.

"I just left the A-Team, so they should be here in about ten or fifteen minutes. I've posted guards out by the front door so they'll most likely take the bait and go through the basement door, right into our hands. Now, on the off chance they do use the front door, we may want Gerard upstairs, giving us a little time to realize that they're up top." He thought of the huge hulky man, having a hard time believing anything short of a rocket could take that man out, but they weren't taking any chances.

"Sounds like a plan, good work Scotty. Let's go get the loon and bring him out, we'll want him to be one of the first things the team notices," Arty said, getting a quick nod and turning back to the meat locker, opening the doors and walking back into the chilled air.

"Gerard!" Arty shouted, even though it wasn't necessary, "Get upstairs now, they're coming," The huge man quickly left the room, making the wooden stairs wail in protest as he ran up them and into the kitchen.

"Scotty, help me when him," The Italian said, gesturing towards Murdock. Scotty reached up to the metal hook, cutting through the ropes as the pilot fell limp into Arty's arms, moaning softly. Scotty and Arty carried him out, laying him down on a chair they'd placed in the middle of the room. Mr. Lombardi closed the doors and went behind the staircase to retrieve the rest of the weapons and cut the circuit breaker.

The basement went black before moonlight from the windows in the door seeped in. Scotty snickered at the boss's flair for drama, grabbing his knife from the table. He drew it up to Murdock's throat as the pilot mumbled something incomprehensible. Scotty smiled wickedly as he heard tires screeching outside, keeping his eyes on the door in front of him; this was what he'd been waiting for.

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**A/N: Muahaha, the suspense builds ;) A special sneak peak to the next chapter for the first person who can tell me what movie I referenced in this chapter AND why I chose that character to reference it xD Thanks for reading, please review! IYD24**


	9. Chapter 8: Reunion of the Damned

**A/N: A BIG congrats to Bgranger1990 who got the answer to my movie trivia: When asked about his martial arts training by Face, Hannibal replied that he'd learned from a 'Mr. Henri Ducard'. This is from Batman Begins, where Liam Neeson (2010 Hannibal) played Henri Ducard :P Sorry, I'm a bit of a batman geek so I was really psyched out when I realized Liam Neeson was in Batman Begins. Now, onwards! Thanks for reading, please review. IYD24 ;)**

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**Chapter 8: Reunion of the Damned**

BA drove down the dimly-lit road as Face and Hannibal kept their eyes peeled for the address that matched the one in the video. They finally found Carrion Ct. and were now looking at the gradually increased numbers on mailboxes.

"There it is! 5228," Face pointed to the second house on their left, bracing himself as BA turned sharply into the driveway. It didn't work, and Face went slamming into the wall of the GMC van. He didn't care though, and opened the door before the van had even stopped. All three men got out of the van, looking at the completely and utterly normal-looking house in front of them.

Face started to rush towards the address before Hannibal's outstretched arm blocked him,

"Wait Face," Hannibal whispered, "They're expecting us. I see two guards up at the front door, so we should probably avoid the old ringing-the-doorbell routine."

"What about that door?" BA pointed to a door down hill from where they were, where the house extended into three floors, "It probably leads to a basement or somethin', we can get it through there!" The team hurried down the hill, stopping just in front of the white metal door. Hannibal paused, his hand on the doorknob,

"What the hell are you waiting for?" Face whispered frantically, _'Murdock is in there! We have to hurry!'_ he thought. But the Colonel was having second guesses, and a basement door seemed far too obvious for kidnappers of this skill.

"Face, just to be sure, you go through that window that leads into the basement," He said, pointing to a small window halfway up the hill. Face looked at him in disbelief, but started up the hill anyways, unlatching the window and attempting to squeeze in through the small opening. He fell heavily into darkness, landing on what felt like concrete. He grunted, but tried to make as little noise as possible while he heard the other two come in through the basement door.

They had taken about five steps when suddenly the basement flooded with light. Face found himself face-to-face with a bookshelf, while Hannibal and BA gasped as they saw Scotty with a knife to Murdock's throat, standing in the middle of the room. Face stayed crouched behind the shelves, keeping quiet while Hannibal approached his friend from the orphanage.

"Hey, long time no see, eh?" Scotty chanted, keeping his blade firm under Murdock's chin. The pilot was unconscious, and bleeding from various spots on his face, arms, and torso.

"Calm down Scotty, we don't want to hurt you…" Hannibal said, even though he knew that any of his men would absolutely _love_ to hurt him.

"Like hell you don't. But I seem to have the advantage here; see, you guys only have a few handguns, while my friends upstairs each have semi-automatics. You're not getting out of this alive, not all of you." Scotty sniffed, grinning wildly.

"Please Scotty, we just want our friend back, that's all," Hannibal said warily.

Murdock started to shift in the chair, and then froze, disoriented. _'I'm not hanging anymore, why aren't I hanging? I'm in a chair…voices, there're voices…' _He opened his swollen and bruised eyes, seeing an old man and a big, scary-looking guy in front of him. As he shifted his weight some more, he realized that there was something against his neck, something very sharp, he couldn't turn to see what it was, he couldn't move at all.

He looked at the men in front of him, confused. The old man was talking, yelling something at whatever was behind him, whatever he could not see. The big man stayed silent, his eyes narrowed into slits. Yet, as intimidating as this man seemed to be, Murdock wasn't afraid of him, and he didn't know why. Every time he saw the man's huge muscles or Mohawk all he thought of was affection and teasing.

Murdock started to get frustrated, he obviously knew these men, so why the heck couldn't he tell who they were? He tried digging through his brain, but had to leave many areas of memory untouched, he didn't want to know what the big man, or the Italian, or the smaller man had left there. The old man stopped talking and looked at Murdock, his kind eyes worried and panicked. _'Old men should get that stressed, that's not right,'_ Murdock wanted to tell the old man that it was alright, that he shouldn't be worrying about him, when suddenly he felt something stab into his back, and yelled as the shocks of electricity jolted up and down his body, making him convulse against his will.

Hannibal cringed as Scotty shoved the taser into Murdock's back, sending him into spasms as the pilot screamed. B.A. started to tremble behind him, whether in fear or anger the Colonel could not tell.

"Scotty, that's not necessary…" Hannibal said, talking to the man like he was young child having a fit. He'd been trying to reason with Face's ex-roommate while desperately trying to communicate facial expressions with Murdock, but all he got from the pilot was uncertainty and frustration. Scotty gripped his knife tighter as the blade edged dangerously close to Murdock's throat. Murdock started to catch up with reality as fear took over his body language. He gripped the seat of the chair (they hadn't even bothered to tie him up) and his breathing started to get quick and shallow.

Face watched the entire confrontation from behind the wooden shelves. Hannibal was trying to get Scotty to put the knife down, but he refused, revealing a taser from his back pocket and electrocuting Murdock for the God-knows-how-many-eth time. Face felt the darkness that had taken him in the van start to creep up again as Murdock hollered loudly, the strain in his voice making in evident how many times this had happened. Hannibal edged towards Scotty a bit more as Face saw his former best friend bring the knife closer to Murdock's neck.

"Hey! That's close enough Mr. Smith. Now surrender and remove all of your weapons or watch your friend here die," The edge of the blade nicked against Murdock's throat, sending a small stream of blood down his chest. Face heard Murdock whimper, his lip starting to tremble in fear as he bit down on it.

That was about all Face could take, he dashed from his hiding spot, running across the room with only one intention: saving his friend. He pulled out his gun, aiming at Scotty and pulled the trigger, acting too quickly to listen to the screaming voices telling him to stop. The man fell backwards, dropping the knife from his hands and landing hard on the floor below.

"Face, no!" Hannibal bellowed as he saw Face shoot Scotty in the head and continue to move towards Murdock. The Colonel stared in horror as the other man that he'd caught glimpses of appeared from behind the stairs, holding a gun in his hand. The Lieutenant turn towards Hannibal for a second, and that's all it took at a shot shattered through the air in the large basement.

Face arched forward, falling back and landing right in front of Murdock, clutching the left side of his chest. He looked up at the shocked pilot for a second, pleading with his eyes in astonishment before he turned on his stomach, falling motionless as the blood started to pool around him.

Thoughts and memories flashed through Murdock's head faster than a rocket as he stared at the still man in front of him, the one he dreadfully tried to remember. He knew this man, he knew he did, he was the one in his darkness, the one that made everything better. _'Those eyes…'_ Murdock thought, _'That face, that… that __face__…'_ All of the sudden everything snapped in place and Murdock gasped in horror,

"FACE!" He screamed, scrambling out of his seat and moving towards the unmoving Lieutenant. "Facey… Facey, Oh my God…" He cried, tears landing on the back of his best friend, darkening the color of his shirt.

"Well that's just too damn bad, now isn't it?" Murdock heard a voice come from behind him, a voice that he'd been dreading for God-knows-how long. Mr. Lombardi walked up to the chair, pointing a gun at Hannibal and BA, preventing them from going to help Murdock, though now Hannibal was thinking he'd need restraining instead.

"You…" Murdock whispered murderously, his hands clenching into fists, "_YOU DID THIS TO HIM_!" Murdock snatched the knife from beside him, whipping around and tackling the Italian man before he could even blink. Murdock wrestled with the man for his gun as Hannibal grabbed BA's arm and dragged him past Face, past Murdock, sprinting for the stairs.

"Hannibal, what the hell are you doing?" BA yelled over Murdock's screams of rage.

"There's at least three more men up there and if we don't take 'em out then we're all dead!" The Colonel yelled, running into the kitchen and stopping dead as a massive man stood up from the table. Hannibal just smiled sheepishly, and dashed down the hallway as BA threw a punch at the man's face, throwing him off-balance. Gerard tried to throw a punch back but was too slow before BA did a ferocious uppercut, sending the giant sprawling across the kitchen table. Before he could reach his weapon, BA pulled out his handgun, landing a bullet right in the middle of his chest, relieved to finally give that son of a bitch what he deserved.

Hannibal caught BA's eye as he came back from the hallway, tucking his gun back into its holster. They both searched the floor for more men when an especially loud scream from Murdock had then both glancing at the basement door, worried, but still scoping to make sure they were safe.

Murdock let out a vicious yell as he landed on top of the man, throwing punch after punch at the man that had single-handedly destroyed his life and everything he knew about it.

"YOU KILLED HIM! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU PIECE OF SHIT YOU SHOT HIM!" Murdock's screams became more and more hysterical at he reach for a knife, or a gun, _something_ get that goddamned smug smile off the man's face as he looked into Murdock's eyes, burning him.

Face opened his eyes weakly as he heard Murdock screams, he rolled on his back, clutching the arm Lombardi had managed to shoot him with. Thankfully it hit close enough to his chest that he was able to fake his own death (again) and wait to take Lombardi by surprise. What he didn't expect though, was Murdock. Not that Face could blame him though, after what he'd just been through…

A loud gunshot snatched Face out of his half-conscious stupor as he jerked around, jumping to his feet as he ran over to Murdock, who was still beating the dead man, demolishing his face into an unidentifiable shape of blood and gore. Face tried to catch one of Murdock's flailing arms, finally succeeding and starting to pull the pilot back.

"NO!" Murdock screamed; struggling as Face brought him back against his chest, locking Murdock's arms behind him.

"It's over Murdock! He's gone, he's gone," Face whispered in the pilot's ears as they remained on their knees. Murdock froze, panting heavily, looking at the man vacantly before looking up at Face.

"Glad to see me?" Face joked, smiling widely. That smile fell fast as Murdock's expression didn't change. "Murdock, hey man you okay?" He stared into Murdock's eyes, hoping to find the pilot still in them. Confused, Face looked back at the body, noticing for the first time the lack of a bullet wound.

'_Wait…'_ Face looked back at Murdock who stared at him, his mouth slightly open before his eyes glazed over and he collapsed onto his back, blood streaming out of his stomach and mouth.


	10. Chapter 9: Precious Time

**A/N: Hello! So so sorry about the delayed update. You know my 'rule' about having a chapter in-between posting and writing? I sort-of broke that trying to get chapters out to you guys haha, and the end of this chapter was more challenging that I expected it to be. But I have a good visual of what to do next, so hopefully the next chapter won't take so long.**

**PS: A bit different in this chapter: **_italics_** are now used for emphasis and memories, not song lyrics. Onwards!**

**Chapter 9: Precious Time**

"_HANNIBAL! BOSCO!"_

BA and Hannibal snapped their heads towards the door, hearing the one voice they thought they'd never hear again.

"_Face?"_ BA mouthed questioningly to his CO. Hannibal shrugged slightly, heading towards the basement door and down the stairs. Hannibal stopped dead when he saw Face kneeling on the floor, crying, holding a motionless blood-soaked Murdock in his arms.

"Jesus Christ!" Hannibal yelled out, running towards them.

"What the hell happened fool?" B.A. yelled following quickly behind his CO. Hannibal rushed up to Face, noticing the bullet wound in his shoulder. Before he could question the Lieutenant, Murdock gave a small whimper as he look around, staring up at Face with wide eyes,

"Facey, what… am I dead?" He gasped.

Face smirked at his assumption, tears growing in his eyes "No way man, you're not dead."

"But I- I saw you… you got shot…"

"He missed buddy," Face whispered, "Took it in the shoulder, not the chest." Murdock looked relieved, but then gasped and recoiled as Face tried to put pressure on Murdock's wound. The pilot smirked again, feebly,

"Good… you're better off… alive…" Murdock clenched his teeth, laying his head on Face's arm as his eyes starting to close.

"And so are you sucka, so you better stay awake while we get you outta here," BA barked, taking Murdock into his arms as Face stood up. Bosco cradled the crazy man close to him, trying to move him as little as possible as Hannibal opened the basement door, running up to the van and starting the engine.

Face opened the back door to the van, climbing in while BA walked up the hill, warily handing Murdock off to Face. Face winced as the weight strained the torn muscles in his shoulder, but focused on the nearly unconscious pilot as he laid him gently on the floor. Murdock stared at the ceiling in a daze, trying to keep his eyes open, but it kept getting harder and harder every moment.

"Come on Murdock, I just got you back man, I can't lose you now," Face whispered to the pilot, brushing his sweaty hair away from his face. Murdock looked up at Face,

"N-no worries Faceman… H.M. Murdock's here to-" He cut off in a fit of coughing, blood escaping down the side of his mouth. He set his head back on the floor of the van, panting and closing his eyes, his jaw going slack.

"Hannibal…" Face warned, there was blood everywhere.

"I know Face!" the Colonel's rough voice came from the front seat, "B.A.'s literally driving as fast as he can without exploding the engine." His response came out harsher than intended, but he was too busy trying to find anything that looked remotely like a hospital to listen to the Lieutenant telling him his worst fears. Face crouched on the floor, trying to put pressure on Murdock's wound as they sped down the road. Face could barely keep his stomach from twisting as his hands were covered in blood, _'Murdock's blood...'_ he thought morbidly.

B.A. gripped the steering wheel so hard he was amazed it hadn't broken yet, his eyes trained on the road as it flashed by. The lights of the town came into view as stores and street lights flew by in a blur. Suddenly a familiar white building came into view as BA slammed on the brakes, bringing the van onto two wheels as he turned the corner. He heard a feeble moan come from the back seat, and dread flashed though his mind,

"Sorry man," BA said softly. They screeched to a halt outside the front doors. Hannibal quickly got out of the front seat and threw open the back door; Face already waiting with Murdock unconscious in his arms. The Lieutenant jumped out of the van, but stopped on the curb, swaying slightly on his feet. Hannibal remembered Face's shoulder, and quickly took the pilot from his arms. He gasped at the sudden weight, but held his own.

"Face, get someone to get that bullet out. And soon, I don't want you passing out in the waiting room." Face started to object, but his vision began to blur around the edges and he figured he probably should get someone to check on him.

BA slammed the door closed, running around the side of the van to find Hannibal carrying Murdock into the hospital with Face beside him. BA was very surprised,_ 'Damn man, I didn't know the Colonel was that strong.' _Hannibal clutched the pilot in his arms, his muscles screaming out in protest. He didn't dare stop; this was his team. _'More than that,'_ Hannibal thought, _'This is my son.'_ They crashed through the glass doors, the young receptionist jumping up from her seat.

"We need a doctor here! This man's shot and he's losing blood fast!" Hannibal yelled. A tall doctor with brown hair came up to the team, looking in awe at the sheer rugged state they were all in.

"What happened-?" He started to ask,

"There's no time for questions doc this man is dying!" Hannibal yelled in the doctor's face, gesturing at Murdock. Quickly a team of nurses came out with a stretcher. Hannibal carefully set Murdock down. The pilot opened his eyes from all of the noise around him. _'Where am I? Why is everything so bright?' _He wondered faintly. The dull, throbbing pain in his stomach did not make concentrating any easier. Darkness swirled across the edges of his vision, threatening to block out everything completely. Straining, Murdock turning his head to the left, and was nearly face-to-face with his CO. Hannibal jogged beside him, his eyes wide and glassy. _'What's going on…?'_ Murdock wondered.

"Captain, stay with us!" Hannibal shouted, but all Murdock saw were his lips moving. The black dots swirled across his vision again, blocking everything out except faint whispers…

_..."Murdock! Come on man, I can't lose you!"…_

"_Get those men out of here!"…_

"_Fool don't you dare, not now! Not like this…"_

"_He's flat lining! Get a defibrillator, now!"..._

"_Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave-"_

"_MURDOCK!"_

"_Sir…"_

"_Charging….CLEAR"..._

The sounds got farther and farther away, until he could barely make out the words…

"_SIR, I need you and you friends to leave right now!"_

"_No response. Charging again… CLEAR"…_

Murdock desperately tried to fight off the darkness that was coming over him. It felt like a warm blanket. He considered letting it take him over, it felt warm, safe. But he heard his team, calling for him. He knew he couldn't leave them, not like this. He struggled as the blanket twisted and snaked around him, trying to envelop him in its nothingness.

"_Oh my God… Murdock, please!"_

"_Murdock… James… James, we love you…"_

He started to panic as he heard his friends' cries get farther and farther away from him. He thought he was winning against the darkness, so why could he hear his friends anymore?

_All of the sudden he was thrust back into light; a blinding, radiant, beaming light. He saw himself and his team; it was a mission they had covered a couple weeks prior. They were all in another C-130 (Murdock loved those) and flying at high speed with a hostage in their plane. BA started to stir as Murdock heard Face mumble a curse from the co-pilot's seat._

"_What the hell…aww man, my head…" The hostage, a young man with a beard and a mean face suddenly looked frightened as the huge man opened his eyes. _

"_What's going on… Why the hell are we in an airplane man? I knew you was gonna knock me out! I knew we was flyin'! I knew it!" BA screamed, not helping Murdock's concentration as his hands danced over the controls, trying to evade the enemy plane behind him._

"_BA, calm down," Hannibal chided gently from beside him, keeping his gun firmly anchored into the hostage's back, "We thought you were going to be out the whole time, we just ran into some unexpected turbulence,"_

"_What the hell does that mean fool?" BA refused to quiet down._

"_Bosco, you're not helping my concentration," Murdock said, not lifting his eyes from the numerous buttons in front of him. It was the third time flying in a C-130 and he still had no idea what the hell half of these buttons did._

"_Man, when have you ever concentrated in your life?" BA screamed, thrashing in his seat. Luckily they had the insight to strap him in, but when he got scared they knew it was possible he could break through. Hannibal briefly let go of the man to keep BA from uprooting the seat from the plane, holding down his shoulders while Face tried to keep up with the commands Murdock was throwing at him._

_The man took this opportunity to brandish a gun from his jacket, firing at the pilot's seat. Murdock screamed; clutching his right shoulder as Hannibal quickly knocked the man out with the butt of his gun._

"_OW! Damn it! Why am I always the one that ends up getting shot?" Murdock yelled, squeezing his eyes closed as the plane started to tip into a nosedive._

"_Murdock! Murdock you gotta pull through man, you need to get this plane landed!" Face shouted from the seat next to him, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder, recoiling slightly when blood smeared across his palm._

"_Alright ladies and gentleman, we have a new flight plan," Murdock announced into to the microphone, "Due to our handsome and courageous pilot suffering a minor injury, we will be arriving at our destination in about, oh… forty seconds,"_

"_Forty seconds? Man, you can't land a plane in forty seconds!" BA yelled, but was cut off as the engines cut off, the plane diving steeply through the air. Everyone screamed as Murdock howled with laughter, taking the time to find out what more of those buttons did._

_When they dropped past the cloud line, Murdock flicked around with some of the levers, the engines rumbling faintly._

"_This is a lot different than a helicopter!" Murdock yelled over the screaming men, and just started randomly pressing down buttons that looked like starters._

"_WE GONNA DIE!" BA shouted, but as the valleys and mountains became more visible, Murdock flipped a switch and the motors roared back to life, sending the plane horizontal through the mountain range. Murdock howled with delight,_

"_Just like Mexico, boys!" He shouted over the microphone, breaking out into an opera version of 'Come back to Sorrento' in Italian. _

"_Damn it fool I'm gonna kill you!" BA shouted, Hannibal and Face too stunned to say anything as Face ran his clean hand through his hair, staring wide-eyed out the front of the aircraft. Despite everything, the Colonel and Lieutenant started laughing, BA too stunned to say anything._

The memory left as quickly as it came, dissipating into a cloud of dark fog, Murdock tried to find his way around, but he could see nothing except shadows and ghosts. Distorted figures watched him run through the darkness, trying to find something... someone...? Why was he running again...? He was so lost, so confused. Was what he was seeing real? He could never tell. In the darkness he saw several muddled people; three of them stood next to each other, malice and hatred flaming in their eyes. The other four, very different from each other, were expressionless and had only a flicker of longing that hung about them.

Murdock continued to stare at them as the two groups merged together and apart, as if they were made of water. Murdock was bewildered, he knew he should go with one group, and run from the other, but which was which? He couldn't recognize any of them, even though he felt in the back of his mind they were all very relevant.

Black swirls started to come up behind him again, wrapping around his arms and waist. Wherever they touched sent chills through Murdock's body, draining what little life he felt he had. He looked up to the figures, shouting for help, but his words were lost. He had almost given up when he heard a voice, echoed from memory but clear as day,

'_James, we love you...'_

Realization flickered in his mind, he knew that voice. He didn't know why, where, or even who said it, but it was real. If he did anything before the darkness overtook him, he would find that voice again. He fought back the swirls, running through the darkness and the figures, chasing his illusions with a new determination.

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**A/N: Sorry if the ending is a bit... off of my style. I just finished reading Eragon for the 7 millionth time (LOVE that book), so adventure-fantasy is clouding my mind. I bring you updates in the near furture, PLEASE review, it's how I know peeps are still reading :) IYD24**


	11. Chapter 10: Friends Come and Go

**A/N: Hooray for finally updating! Again, really really sorry. School's really kicking it this year, writing times have gotten few and far apart.**

**So I just added this chapter, didn't really want to risk the alert not getting sent out, because I'm just that desperate :P**

**The quote at the beginning is from Khalil Gibran, the... _other_ one is from Albert Einstein, and is one of my favorite quotes.**

**PLEASE please review, and I'm really sorry guys. Going this long without updating is just mean.**

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**Chapter 10: Friends Come and Go, Family is Forever**

_"Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls. The most massive characters are seared with scars."_

Face sat hunched over in a hospital chair, wincing as he tugged at the bandages on his arm. He had demanded to be released right after they had sewn him up, joining Hannibal and BA who were still in the waiting room. Face watched as the clock dragged on, the second hand moving at what seemed like an agonizingly slow pace.

Visions of Murdock pervaded his mind, his psyche already too damaged to keep them out. They'd rushed the pilot onto a stretcher seconds after Hannibal carried him in. Face couldn't remember a time when the Colonel looked more strained, screaming at doctors and refusing to leave the stretcher as Murdock was wheeled into the surgery room. A monitor that they had hooked up to the pilot measured the pilot's erratic heartbeat.

_Beep, beep, beep, beep, beeeeeep..._

Face fidgeted in his seat as he remembered the machine sending out a single, dreaded tone, the chaos that had ensued around him as Murdock's heart gave out. Nurses and doctors immediately got a defibrillator, charging it and slamming the electric paddles onto the pilot's chest. The shock sent his body in an upwards convulsion, making Face feel nauseous. The godforsaken continuous beep did not stop, causing the nurses to charge up the paddles again. Face, Hannibal, and even B.A. were in hysterics as they called out to their friend, fighting off the orderlies and security guards until Face reached past the grasp of an officer, pain shooting up his arm. He collapsed on the floor, crying out and clutching his shoulder as his vision muddled.

Face couldn't remember much after that, it was all a blur until he came to in a hospital bed, a nice looking nurse finishing off his bandages. On any other day Face might have pulled a move on her, but he jumped out of bed, grabbing his clothes and running down the hallway to his team, ignoring outbursts from various doctors and nurses. The fact that Hannibal and B.A. were still in the waiting room told him two things: one: he hadn't been out for too long, and two: Murdock was alive.

B.A. cracked his knuckles, waiting anxiously at seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. They had been there all night, waiting and praying as half of their team got bullets removed from them. He glanced up as Face came into the room in a hospital gown, his clothing clasped in his right hand. _'Finally,'_ B.A. thought, _'That fool was out for over an hour, was startin' to get worried about him too...'_

Without saying a word, Face crossed the waiting room, pulling on his jeans and exchanging the hospital gown for a green shirt with faded yellow writing on it. He sat forward, clasping his hands together and leaning his head onto them. B.A. briefly wondered if the Lieutenant was praying, (he'd never known Face to be very religious) but couldn't find the will to voice his question. They sat there in silence, never talking, never getting up, pleading to whatever higher power that might exist above them to let Murdock live.

Hannibal looked up from the couch as a young lady emerged from the doorway, glancing around the waiting room before looking back to her clipboard, confused.

"...James Murdock?" She stated, as if asking a question. Hannibal stood up as Face and B.A. shot out of their seats, Face cringing and rubbing his barely-bandaged shoulder.

"Are you his family?" the nurse looked at each of the men, none of which looked even remotely like Murdock.

"Yes," Hannibal answered definitively. None of them questioned the statement; it wasn't a lie. "How is he?"

The tension in the room sky-rocketed as the nurse hesitated, looking back down at her clipboard, biting her lip. Finally she answered, "He's alive."

Face sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes with his right hand to remove the tears that were threatening to form. B.A. released a breath he didn't know he was holding, running his hand over his Mohawk. The nurse continued quickly,

"He's very weak though. We lost him for a brief moment during surgery again; he's lost so much blood. He seems to have an extremely rare blood type, so we'll have to wait for a few days before we can get a supply in from a neighboring hospital." B.A. spoke up,

"Hey man, me and Murdock got the same blood type, could I donate blood for him?" The nurse looked surprised, but happy as well.

"That would be extremely helpful, if you could just fill out a few forms and we'll run you through some tests."

"Can we see him? Miss..." Face checked her name tag, "Daniels. Please." Face gave her his best, most innocent conman puppy eyes,

The nurse looked torn, "I suppose," she said tentatively, "But you'll have to be extremely quiet. He's under sedation and we can't have him waking up with the small amount of blood he has in his system. He's in the ICU, room 14b-" Hannibal immediately pushed past the woman, walking briskly down the hallway as Face gave her a half-smile before following the driven Colonel.

The nurse looked at them once more before leading B.A. down a different hallway, stopping in front of one of the blood donation rooms.

"Please have a seat, a different nurse will be in in a moment to ask you some questions and test your blood," She said with a professional grin.

"Thank you very much ma'am," B.A. responded politely.

"Oh no, don't thank me, it's my job. I'm glad to hear about your friend, you all must care about him very much," Miss Daniels much more warmly and personably, amazed by the love and devotion she had seen in all three of the men. She hadn't seen them move once during their stay while their friend was in surgery, except for the handsome (if she did say so herself) one practically fleeing his recovery room to join the other two. She went down the hallway where he and the older man had disappeared, finding a nurse to test the larger man for his blood type.

Hannibal slowly opened the door to the hospital room, stepping inside quietly, as if it were a dragon's lair. Face followed him in, looking at the hospital bed as sadness swept through him for the millionth time. _'This is different though,'_ the Lieutenant thought to himself, _'he's going to be alright.'_

Hannibal edged up to the side of the bed, taking in Murdock's condition. The pilot was very pale and unconscious, hooked up to several drips and tubes. A heart monitor watched his pulse carefully. He did fidget at all, which was unnerving as he had developed a reputation for falling asleep in the corner of the bed and waking up on the floor on the opposite side...of the room. He looked so small amongst all of the machinery. Hannibal toke Murdock's hand into his own, wishing that the pilot would wake up, just for a moment, just so that they could see that he was alright.

Face knelt down on the opposite side of the bed, staring at the pilot. They had cleaned him up pretty well; his hair was no longer greasy, and they had wiped all of the excess blood off. Face gently brushed Murdock's hair out of his face, stroking his check and noting the prominent cut over his eye. In the fluorescent lighting, the numerous scars and bruises were more evident on his face and neck. Face felt the rage bubbling up in his stomach again, regretting that the men that had done this to him were already dead. _'The things I would do...' _Face contemplated,

"I don't know if you can here me buddy," the Lieutenant started, displeased with his voice, rough from lack of use, "but you really had us scared back there. I thought B.A. was going to commit a massacre." He smirked, satisfied with staying by his friend's side, kneeling on the tile flooring. Hannibal stood across from him, just looking at Murdock, a faint smile evident across his lips.

"I tell ya, we sure know how to pick 'em; of all the gas stations, huh? We end up trekking across town doing a hundred..." Face cut off, the memories coming back too strongly, "but anyways. You got the top doctors here, man. You ask them anything you want at you'll get it; course I might have to help if you, say, order a panda or demand lightsabers or something..." Face smiled, shaking his head and looking down at the sheets, _'I'm starting to sound like Murdock' _he thought to himself. He kept his head looking at the floor, clasping his hands together,

"But seriously, we were really worried about you. We didn't know how things were going to end, and if we'd lost you... if I'd lost you... I'd probably end up losing my mind..."

"_The question that sometimes drives me hazy... am I, or the others crazy?"_ Face's head snapped up at the scratchy voice, bright blue eyes meeting brown ones. Murdock smirked weakly as Face jumped up, hugging the pilot tightly before another word could be said. He was so relieved; tears running down his face into the pilot's hair,

"Oh my God Murdock I was so worried," Face whispered into his ear, straightening as he looked over to Hannibal. The colonel would have been unreadable, except his eyes shone with tears, the sheer joy all too evident in them.

"Colonel," Murdock croaked out,

"Captain," Hannibal replied, smiling warmly and leaning forward to capture the man in a brief embrace.

"You know Murdock, you really shouldn't be awake, doc says you lost a ton of blood. Speaking of which... aren't you suppose to be under heavy sedation?" Face asked. Murdock grinned; his eyes half-open as his fought the medicine making him sleepy,

"Well you know, Faceman, when you've been given as many different combinations of drugs as I have, it takes a lot to finally konk you out." But even as he spoke, his eyes fluttered closed again as he struggled to keep them open. Face chuckled,

"It's alright Murdock, you can go back to sleep, we'll still be here when you wake up. Heck, Bosco might even be back with us by then."

"B.A.! Where is the big ol' mudsucker anyways?" Murdock's face immediately lit up at the thought of the big guy.

"He's down the hallway and around the corner, getting test done to donate blood," Hannibal said, smiling for the first time it what seemed like ages.

"Really? Donating blood? Aww, he really does care, doesn't he?" Murdock gushed, laying his head back down against the pillow with a crooked grin, finally letting the sedatives take over and drifting back into sleep.

"Yeah he does," Face said softly, pushing Murdock's unruly hair back again, ruffling it, "We all do."

B.A. flexed his arm muscle, feeling a little-headed as the nurse left his room with what felt like half of his AB negative. He didn't mind though, _'As long as it gets to the crazy fool,'_ he thought to himself. He stood and leaned against the bed for support, waiting a moment before fully straightening himself and walking (slowly) down the hallway. He glanced up at the doors, _'11, 12a, 12b, 13, 14a... here we go.'_ He grabbed the door handle in haste, hesitating for a moment before walking in.

Face and Hannibal turned their heads as B.A. came in to the room. He looked over at Murdock, his muscles stiffening as he eyes the various machines and IVs he was hooked up to.

"How's he doin'?" The big man asked. Face looked at Murdock,

"Not too bad. He woke up a few minutes before you came in, seems like he'll be alright."

"Yeah, physically at least," B.A. muttered. _'Who knows what kinda stuff they did to him in there? There's no way he's gonna make it out of this without some nightmares followin' him around.' _He thought glumly, _'The poor fool's already got enough monsters runnin' around inside his head, he don't need more.'_

"We'll help him through it; we'll make sure he'll be alright." B.A. turned towards Hannibal's rough voice, watching the man watch Murdock, his eyes reminiscent. They'd helped each other out with things like this before; they'd always taken care of each other, this wouldn't be any different.

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**A/N: This is not the ending! Just letting you know. There's definitely more to come. Pretty pretty please review, even if it is just yelling at me for being so gosh darn late :( Thanks for reading! IYD24**


	12. Chapter 11: Repercussions

**A/N: I can't thank you guys enough for how patient you guys have been. It's been pretty hard, until tennis is over (which is in the next couple weeks) I'm pretty sure the only time I'll be able to write/upload is on the weekends :( But thanks so so much, I really appreciate all the support you guys have given me. **

**I'm not sure how many more chapters this story'll have, probably only one or two :( I'm kinda sad to end it after all we've been through. ****This is by FAR the longest, most reviewed story I have, and I can only give the credit to you. You guys made this all possible. If any of you have ANY story ideas, please PM me or write it in the reviews. Anything.**

**But, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves! I have a great idea for the next chapter and a new story uploaded! It's called Fear is in the Mind, please check it out! ;)**

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Chapter 11: Repercussions

Hannibal started to visibly relax as the nurse gave Murdock some more of B.A.'s blood, his color finally beginning to return to its normal shade. All three men crowded by the pilot's table as the nurse quickly excused herself afterwards, mumbling something about the sedatives wearing off.

"So, he's really gonna be alright boss?" Face asked, looking up at the older man for confirmation.

"Yeah, I think so kid. We've all been through hell these past couple of days, I say we scam some cabin in the mountains and stay up there a few days, maybe even a week." Hannibal gazed at Murdock, willing the young aviation expert to wake up so that they could discuss plans.

Meanwhile, Murdock continued to fight against the dark swirls in his head, much like he had been doing before the sedatives took over. This was different though; these swirls were like a veil, simply cloaking the surface instead of trying to suffocate him in a blanket. Murdock tried pushing around the veils, frustration growing as he tried to come back to his friends. He'd felt something, _something_ that brought him closer to the surface. It was a lot of something actually, and it brought him inside a bright room. He looked around, confused, _'Where's Hannibal? Where's Facey? Bosco?' _He walked around the edges of the small room, lightly running his fingers over the smooth walls.

Suddenly, the scene flashed before his eyes. The hue of the walls darkened as the wallpaper began to peel and blood spatters appeared streaked across them. The room grew dark and stuffy; the only light remaining from a flickering incandescent bulb above his head. Murdock whipped around, what was happening? He looked down and yelped. Lying front of him was B.A., dead. His brown eyes were glazed over, staring at the ceiling. Blood oozed from a shot in his chest, his green wife beater filthy with mud and sweat.

"Bosco? B.A.?" Murdock called out warily, too scared to move. Heavy breathing caught his attention as he turned around, finding Hannibal curled up behind him. The pilot snapped out of it, kneeling down by his bloody and bruised CO as the colonel clutched his stomach.

"Mur...dock..." Hannibal whispered.

"Yeah boss man?" Murdock asked quietly, looking in shock at his feeble state.

"Go... now... hurry..." Hannibal panted, staring up at him with wide eyes before dropping his head down, his body going limp.

"H-Hannibal?" Murdock's voice jumped an octave. He didn't know what was happening, who could have done this, why he hadn't been there to help, to save them.

"Hello James," a cool voice can from behind him, making him jump as he scrambled to his feet. He turned around to find the Italian man holding a knife to Face's throat. Murdock was speechless; he had killed this man, he had beaten him to death...

"Surprised to see me, eh?" The man grinned, his face disfigured and bloody, "Well now it seems you left me in that basement alive, you couldn't even kill me. I always knew you were the weak one." The man brought the knife closer to Face's chin, the conman's lips starting to tremble as tears ran down his face.

"Murdock, don't worry, I'm fine..." Face managed to blurt out.

"Facey..." Murdock called, feeling tears form behind his eyes.

"It-It's alright. I... I love you." Face squeezed his eyes closed before the Italian slashed the knife across his throat, throwing him to the ground. Blood streamed down Face's neck as he fell to the floor; his head cracking against the concrete ground, his eyes staring at nothing.

"NO!" Murdock reached out towards the dead Lieutenant, his breathing rapid and his eyes wide. In the distance he heard a laugh all too familiar to him, looking up as the Italian's eyes burned into his, mockery never leaving them.

"_I win."_

"Murdock!" Face called out as the pilot began to shake violently. His heart rate sky-rocketed and his breathing came out shallow. Hannibal grabbed Murdock's shoulders as B.A. and Face tried to keep his limbs under control.

"Captain, Captain come back to us!" Hannibal cried out, holding the pilot firmly in his hands. Murdock's eyes flew open as he cried out after taking one look at the men in front of him. He thrashed out even more, pulling tubes and who-knows what else out of his arms.

"Murdock, Murdock it's us!" Face cried out, trying to get the pilot to look him in the eyes. Murdock's eyes stared in horror at the black ones staring back at him, the derision still strong in them.

"NO! Get away from me!" Murdock closed his eyes again, pulling his arms from B.A. grasp as he smacked Face across the face, sending him stumbling back in the wall. Face felt his heart break in two as he brought his hand up to his stinging cheek, stunned by Murdock's words. He watched the colonel and Bosco's attempt to contain the man as Hannibal threw a sympathetic glance towards him.

"Murdock man, snap out of it!" B.A. cried. Murdock thrust his head from side to side, trying with all of his might to break free of Hannibal's grasp. Hannibal wasn't giving up easy though, not when Murdock would end up hurting himself. Nurses came rushing into the room, moving around Face who was still frozen at the end of the bed, his palm absentmindedly rubbing his red cheek. A male nurse put his hand on Hannibal's shoulder,

"We'll take it from here," He said gently. Hannibal reluctantly pulled away from Murdock as the nurse quickly injected something into his neck. B.A. stiffened with disdain; he knew how much Murdock hated injections. Murdock gasped; his fighting grew weaker and weaker until he finally stopped moving all together.

A nurse came up to Hannibal, "I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to wait outside until Mr. Murdock has recovered, we can't risk that happening again."

"I understand," Hannibal grumbled, moving around the edge of the bed. He stopped at Face, putting a hand on his arm and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Hey kid, you alright?" He asked; studying Face's disbelieving expression, "It wasn't you, he wasn't seeing you. You're his closest friend Face; you know he'd never do that to you."

"I guess... but the look on his face when he saw us... he didn't have any idea who we even were..." Face let the colonel guide him lightly out the door, stealing one last look at Murdock before complying with the nurse's demands.

"With what that dude's gone through these past few days? It's a wonder he even knows who he is. The man never talked right, something like this is just gonna make him even more crazy," B.A. exclaimed.

"That may be, but he'll get better, he always does. Don't worry men; we'll have our pilot back soon enough." Hannibal looked at the hospital door to Murdock's room, trying to conceal his worry. He knew the pilot was more stable than most people would think, but _this_... this was enough to send a sane person over the edge. He quickly planned a way to talk to the pilot alone; estimating the time it would take for the sedatives they gave him to wear off. He estimated high, then joined B.A. and Face in the seats of the waiting room, watching the clock as the hours hand was just starting to crawl past the five. Hannibal knew the men wouldn't be able to stay awake much longer, and B.A. only confirmed his theory when he nearly pushed Face off of the couch to lie down, throwing his huge forearm over his eyes.

Face sat down in his chair, interlinking his fingers and staring at them. Hannibal watched him for no reason other than he had nothing better to do, studying the young Lieutenant as different emotions flew across his face. Relief, sadness, anger, misery, shock, the list went on and on. Hannibal could only imagine what the soldier was thinking about, what he and the rest of the team ALWAYS thought whenever someone got injured.

It should have been me.

Hannibal didn't know if it was the fact that they all grew up providing for others and not themselves, or that they were all so terrified of losing each other, but every time someone got an injury worse than the usual scratch or bruise everyone always ended up blaming themselves. The men would go to ridiculous lengths to delude themselves into thinking they were to blame for their friend being hurt. Heck, Hannibal knew this, and he still blames himself every time something happened. He was the team leader for crying out loud, the CO; he should take responsibility for his men at all times. Nevertheless, it was always an adventure trying to drag everyone out of their pits of self-loathing, one that took patience and a deep understanding of how they each thought.

Hannibal placed his hand on Face's knee, "It's not," he stated simply.

"Not what?"

"Your fault."

"You're lying," Face mumbled, going back to staring at his hands, "Scotty was after me, only me. He nearly killed Murdock just to hurt me,"

"You couldn't have possibly known he would do that. You didn't even know if he was alive," Hannibal argued.

"But it was my fault he was like that! I-I should have been a better friend to him. I was selfish back then Hannibal, all I cared about was getting out of the day's work..."

"You were a child, Lieutenant, an orphan at that. You didn't know any better, you couldn't have," Hannibal tried to catch Face's eyes, but the young man looked away from him, trying to avoid letting the colonel see the tears that refused to go away.

"No! You're wrong..."

"You know I'm not Face, you know I wouldn't lie to you under any circumstances."

Face huffed, turning his back to Hannibal as he got more comfortable in his chair. _'It's a start,' _Hannibal thought. After about 15 minutes snores started to emerge from the Lieutenant and Hannibal made his move. He rose up from his chair quietly and sneaked across the hallway, slipping into the hospital room. Hannibal stayed at the end of the bed, watching his pilot sleep. He'd never seen Murdock so still before, he wanted to wake him up so badly. Minutes went by, when suddenly Murdock started to still. Hannibal rushed up to his side, taking his small hand into his own. The pilot squeezed his eyes shut, and then blinked a few times before looking around nervously, his gaze finally resting upon his CO.

"C-Colonel?" Murdock croaked, his weak voice making Hannibal tear up again.

"Yeah Murdock, we're still here."

"I-I had the worst nightmare, worse than the ones before. You- you and B.A. were dead... and then Face- Oh my god..." Murdock shuddered, sucking in a breath.

"Don't worry Captain, it was just a dream. We're all here; we never left you, not once." Hannibal stared into Murdock's eyes, as if trying to banish the demons with a mere look. Murdock started to say something, but then just stared back, his eyes reflecting everything. Hannibal took it all in; his pain, his anger, his confusion, his agony. He watched it all flash in the young pilot's eyes. Hannibal stood up, putting a hand on Murdock's shoulder and kissing the top of his head. He stayed bent over, they're forehead's touching,

"It's alright James, you're here with us now, you're safe."

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**A/N: A little bit of Hannibal/Murdock father/son-ness there at the end, because there's not enough of it ^_^ PLEASE review. I love hearing from you guys so much. I'll hopefully have the next chapter uploaded a little sooner actually. I'm really exited because my birthday is on Monday, and that seems to be gettin' the creative juices flowin' :) Thanks for reading! IYD24**


	13. Chapter 12: Ever After?

**A/N: Hey everyone. What can I say? I'm sorry? That doesn't even begin. I wouldn't be surprised if most people forgot about this story, since it's been a freakin' MONTH since reviewing. I was actually thinking of abandoning, but a couple people recently added it to their Alerts, new people, and I thought, 'Hey, if people still have hope that I'll add more on, then by golly I'm not going to disappoint them!' Another reason I think I haven't updated is that I know this story is drawing towards its end, probably only another chapter or two left, and that makes me very sad. This is by FAR the longest and most reviewed story I have, and I didn't want it to end. **

**If anyone has ANY requests or ideas, please share them with me! All I need is an idea and I'm good to go.**

**A HUGE thanks to Silver2018, HeartMurdock345,  Bgranger1990, and BlackxValentine for just hanging in there with me throughout this whole thing, reviewing and providing me with so much feedback! You guys are amazing, I don't know where I'd be without you.**

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**Chapter 12: Ever After?**

"Thanks ma'am, I think I got it from here."

Murdock's southern accent made all three of the men turn, watching as a redheaded nurse wheeled Murdock down the hallway, refusing to let him get up until they reached the desk. Face rushed over to Murdock's side, helping him slowly get up from his chair. Murdock gave him a small grin; his green eyes regaining some of the gleam the boys had missed so much.

"Alright then Mr. Murdock, you are free to go," the doctor said from behind the counters, giving Hannibal the last of the paper work. It'd been almost a week until Face had finally been able to convince the doctors that Murdock was well enough to leave. Even if he was still injured, they were fugitives and they couldn't take any chances. Face helped Murdock outside and into the van, quickly climbing in after him. The ride was relatively quiet, save for the heavy metal station B.A. had switched on playing in the background softly.

Face noticed a spark of recognition flashed through Murdock's eyes at the screams that were coming from the radio, accompanied by heavy drumming and guitar. It wasn't Face's personal style, but it was B.A.'s truck, and he wouldn't dare go up against him on his music. Face watched curiously as the pilot mouthed the words, staring emptily at the floor in front of him.

'_Beaten, why for...? Can't take much more..._

_ONE, nothing wrong with me... TWO, nothing wrong with me... THREE, nothing wrong with me... FOUR, nothing wrong with me..._

_ONE, something's got to give... TWO, something's got to give... THREE, something's got to give, NOW...'_

Hannibal grimaced at the screams and growls coming out of the radio. He didn't see how this could even be considered music.

'_Let the bodies hit the floor... Let the bodies hit the floor... Let the bodies hit the floor...'_

Face was still memorized by Murdock as his eyes started to take on a far-away look, like he was remembering something. Face didn't want to think about that; so many things had happened to Murdock his whole life; he didn't want to think about what Murdock could be capable of...

'_Push me again... This is the end..._

_ONE, nothing wrong with me... TWO, nothing wrong with me... THREE, nothing wrong with me... FOUR, nothing wrong with me..._

The chorus continued on as Face looked away from Murdock, convincing himself that he was overreacting. After all, it was just a song...

'_Let the bodies hit the floor... Let the bodies hit the floor... Let the bodies hit the floor...'_

"Alright, we here," B.A. said, stopping the van in front of a classy-looking hotel. The other three men got out while B.A. went to go park the car, like he'd let any valet touch his girl. As Hannibal went up to the desk to scam them a couple rooms, Murdock hung in the back of the lobby, still looking at the wall with a daydreamer's stare. Face didn't do anything but watch him, glad that he was alive.

"Hey Facey?" Murdock called out without looking away from the boring pictures on the wall of the hotel.

"Yeah, buddy?"

"Did you know that in Iraq they'd play songs like that 24/7 to try and get enemy soldiers to come out of caves? They called it psychological warfare..." Murdock's voice trailed off as he looked at another picture.

"Huh," Face replied, not really sure what to say. Hannibal came over then,

"Alright, I got us two conjoining rooms. We each get our own bed for the night, and room service is all taken care of." Hannibal grinned at his accomplishment, his smiling fading a bit as he noticed Face staring at Murdock, who seemed to be staring off into space, "Captain? You alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah Colonel, peachy keen," Murdock replied with a half-smile that did not convince either of the two men. After B.A. came in all of them took the elevator up to their rooms, nearly collapsing into the beds.

Evening rolled around, and since none of them really felt like going anywhere, they decided to order room service. B.A. didn't think it was as good as Murdock's cooking, but he supposed it would do. As Murdock finished off the last of his chicken leg, he switched on the TV, flipping to some cartoon and rolling over on the bed until he was watching it upside down. Hannibal couldn't help but chuckle at the pilot's childish mannerisms, _'He's going to be alright, he really is. Our pilot's coming back to us...'_

As the show went to commercial, Murdock rolled back over,

"I'ma go hop in the shower, don't wait up," he said, jumping off. But as his feet hit the ground, blinding pain shot up his spine like a white-hot sword. He sucked in a breath, collapsing onto his knees from the throbbing ache spreading across back. Face jumped off of the couch as Hannibal stood up from the bed, B.A. looking up from where he was sitting on one of the chairs. Face was the first one to reach him, bending down and putting a hand on the captain's shoulder. Murdock looked up at him, pain far more intense than he could imagine flashed across his eyes so fast Face couldn't even tell if he had really seen it before it was gone. Murdock gave a small smirk,

"Guess the ninja fights will have to wait, huh?" He asked through clenched teeth. Face slowly helped him up, never taking his eyes off of the pilot. "I'm fine, really. It's just an aftershock, no biggie." Murdock tried to brush the injury off, ignoring Hannibal and Face's stares.

He started to head for the bathroom when B.A.'s arm stopped him.

"Murdock, take your shirt off," Hannibal commanded from behind him.

"What?" Murdock turned around, smirking incredulously.

"You heard me, take your shirt off. We need to see the extent of your injuries."

Murdock's face fell, his eyes darting to the side as he bit his lip.

"Um, I'd really rather not..." He mumbled.

"Come on Captain." Murdock threw Face a pleading look, but the Lieutenant was just as curious about Murdock's condition as Hannibal was. B.A. and Face moved over by Hannibal so that they were all facing Murdock.

"You guys... you guys know you're not going to like what you see, no matter what it is..." Murdock mumbled.

"Stop babblin' fool and just do it," B.A. said, crossing his arms. Murdock gave a sigh of defeat, his hands reaching down to grab the bottom of his undershirt.

As Murdock took off his shirt the three men stared at the large number of scars on his chest. Gash after gash covered his whole torso, not to mention the burn marks and bruises. A long scratch ran from one side to another, red and inflamed from where it had been tied with salt.

"Those fucking bastards... turn around," B.A. ordered. Even though he didn't like it, he still needed to see exactly what had been done to his comrade.

"I... I don't really think-"

"Do it!"

"Guys, please! You don't need to see it; it-it's not that bad..." Murdock rubbed his arm, looking down.

"Murdock, please..." Hannibal managed to whisper. Murdock sighed, cringing as his turned so that his back faced the team. At first none of the men really knew what they were looking at. A strange, spider web pattern enclosed Murdock's neck and back, covering nearly every inch of his skin. Face stepped forward to get a better look at the bizarre markings. As he gently ran his finger over one of the lines, Murdock cringed, stiffening against his touch. Face's eyes widened as he realized what exactly they were seeing.

"Oh God..." He whispered. Face covered his mouth with both of his hands, staring in disbelief at Murdock's back. The pilot turned, glancing at Face apologetically.

"What? Murdock what the hell is this?" B.A. asked, dumbfounded.

Hannibal walked towards Murdock slowly as he finally understood.

"They're... they're whip marks..." he said quietly.

B.A. brought his hand up under his nose, "Oh hell no..."

As they looked closer they saw that the spider-web pattern was composed of individual scars, layering Murdock's back. The lines crossed each other intricately; the knotted white skin raised slightly against his tan back. None of them could believe it, the scars there would last decades, probably the rest of his life. Murdock stared at the hotel wall, tears growing,

"I-I'm sorry guys... they just, kept whipping..." His voice trailed off, remembering when they would whip him until he was unconscious, and when he was finally brought back into consciousness they'd still be whipping him.

Hannibal couldn't help but reach out a hand, tracing one of the dozens of scars. Murdock squeezed his eyes closed, trying to block out the memories. Hannibal let his hand fall back against his side, staring at the floor as agony raced through him.

'_Dear God... what else did they do to him?'_

"M-Murdock... dear God Murdock I'm so sorry..." Hannibal whispered.

"It's alright boss man; it's not as bad as it looks. I'm fine, really," Murdock was pleased with the steadiness of his voice, fighting to keep back whimpers as B.A. finally came up and place a rough hand on his back. '_Why do they each insist on touching my back? It's not like I drew in on there,'_ He thought bitterly.

"Can- can you guys just leave it alone? I'm fine, really. I just... need some sleep, that's all." Murdock looked back the rest of the men with pleading eyes, waiting for them to get over the initial shock. He slowly backed away, disappearing into the bathroom and leaving them to their thoughts.

"I-I just, I can't even imagine..." Face stammered, staring longing at the closed door.

"This is worse than we thought." Hannibal muttered.

"Those sons of bitches..." Was all B.A. could manage; his fist clenching and unclenching, longing to hit something, even though what he really wanted to hit was already dead.

Murdock let the warm water rush over him, gasping slightly as it ran down his back, curving and snaking across his scars. He dreaded going back out there, having to face his friends again. He felt so pathetic, so weak. _'I can make it,' _Murdock thought to himself, _'I just need to make it through a couple minutes, then I can go to bed. I can do this, there's nothing wrong...'_ Murdock continued to try and convince himself when the warm water rushed over where Scotty had tasered him every day... every hour... every minute... the burning... the hospitals...

Tears mixed with water as Murdock's breath hitched. He hummed softly,

'_One, nothing wrong with me...two, nothing wrong with me... three, nothing wrong with me... four, nothing wrong with me...'_

Murdock heaved a sigh, squeezing his eyes shut as visions of Face lying dead with his throat slashed was replaced with Mr. Lombardi laughing in his face... those eyes... Face, Hannibal, B.A., all of them... dead... laughing... He switched the water off, stepping out of the shower and looking into his reflection. Murdock watched in the mirror as Scotty came up behind him, brandishing a knife against his throat. Darkness seeped into Murdock's eyes as he punched the mirror so hard it cracked, opening the door and stalking past the three pairs of eyes staring at him in trepidation

'_Nothing wrong with me...'_

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**A/N: So? Have I lost my touch at all? I really hope not. High school sucks sometimes. Oh, and disclaimer: I don't own the A-Team, etc. Wouldn't that be awesome though? The song is Bodies by Drowing Pool, it's pretty screamo haha. **

**If anyone knows the song I'm thinking of maybe tying in Down With the Sickness by Disturbed into the next chapter, thoughts? Please review, going this long without updating scares me, I'm not sure what people's reactions with be 8( Thank you as always for reading, IYD24**


	14. Chapter 13: Complications

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry that this is sort of a short chapter. It's more like a transitional chapter, just a set up for the plans that I have in store ;) PLEASE PLEASE review, if I do get reivews then I'm planning on having the next chapter up within the week, maybe less! ;) Winter break is coming up and that means ten times as much writing time! I know I've said that I'll try and update soon before and there's still like a month in-between, but honestly with the break coming up and staying with my two younger cousins. I'm going to be in my room typing most of the time!**

**a HUGE thanks to darkorangecat for all of the lovely reviews! You actually gave me the push to finish this chapter and get a head start on the new one! Thank you so much :)**

**PLEASE review, IYD24 ;)**

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Chapter 13: Complications

"Murdock, what was that last night?" Face asked over his shoulder as he threw some clothing into a suitcase.

Murdock laughed from the other side of the bed, "I already told you Faceykins, I was stepping out of the bathtub and I slipped. Instinct was to throw out my hand, and instead of a railing I caught a mirror instead."

Face wasn't convinced, "But... your face... when you came out of the bathroom... You looked seriously pissed off, man." He thought back to the previous night, the look in Murdock's eyes sent chills down his spine.

"I-I was just embarrassed at myself. I haven't slipped in the bathroom since I was a little kid. Plus... I mean, seven years of bad luck over a puddle of water? Come on man, who would be happy about that?" Murdock laughed again, the smile not quite reaching his eyes this time. He sat on top of his Batman suitcase, willing the zipper to close. After much frustration, there was finally a quiet _zip_ as one zipper met the other.

"Ha ha Joker! Foiled again!" Murdock cried, bounding out the door and down the hallway, all the while singing the 'Batman' theme song.

Face looked after him, biting his lower lip.

"Boss?" He called out to Hannibal without moving his eyes from the door.

"Yeah, kid?" Hannibal's rough voice came from inside the small hotel closet.

"Are, are we sure Murdock's alright? I mean, last night was... scary to say the least." Face ran a hand through his wavy brown hair as his focus returned to the clothes he was packing.

"Of course the fool's not alright!" B.A.'s voice sounded from the bathroom as he ran a pick through his Mohawk, "The fool's never been alright!"

"B.A.," Hannibal warned with his 'don't-even-start' tone. The older man turned towards his Lieutenant, "I don't know Face, I really don't know. Murdock's always been hard to read. He seems... alright, but we can never tell for sure. We just all need to be there for him, and help him through any problems he's having." Hannibal looked at the hotel door, thinking about their once care-free pilot.

Down below, Murdock was still humming the Batman theme as he looked through the gift store of the hotel. He browsed through some shirts, post cards, magnets, all your typical souvenir things. He picked up a snow globe, the inside of it containing a small tropical island with a beach and a sun. Murdock's eyebrows came together slightly as he pondered,

'_I just don't get it, why would they make snow globes of southern cities? I mean, it's a __snow__ globe. It's not like it's going to snow there any time soon...'_

'_Maybe it's just so that the cities don't feel left out? I mean, you can't have one souvenir in one city and not have it in the other. A snow globe is classic!'_

'_Who cares? It's just a silly little bobble so that the hotel can make more money.'_

'_I'm going to kill them...'_

Murdock sucked in a breath as he quickly returned the snow globe to the shelf, the flakes dancing around and landing on the painted sand. Shoving his hands in his pocket, Murdock walked aimlessly around the lobby, looking at the paintings scattered decoratively along the tall walls. He waltzed near the center, noticing for the first time the lack of people in the lobby. There were no guests, no concierge, no one at the desks, not even a janitor. Murdock paused, straightening up as he listened for any noise.

All of the sudden, two arms grabbed him from behind, twisting his wrists behind his back. He yelled out in shock, instinctively fighting against the unseen force behind him. More hands came and started grabbing at his flailing limbs, trying to get a hold of the pilot. He screamed as loud as he could, kicking and biting to try and escape the pressing forces that seemed to be coming at him from all angles.

Across the lobby, Face, Hannibal, and BA were all squished in the elevator on their way down when they heard a loud yell. They all looked at each other,

"Murdock...?" Face asked in disbelief.

As the door opened at the first floor, the three men saw their pilot being restrained by four men in black while more were coming in the door. Murdock screamed at them, managing to kick one hard in the face before two more grabbed his leg. One of the men revealed a syringe he had in his jacket, grabbing the pilot by the hair and jabbing the needle into his neck. Murdock gritted his teeth, but soon went limp in the men's arms, his head falling to the side.

"Let's get him into the car boys, I'll find the others." A semi-familiar voice came from on the men as he turned around, noticing the three stunned convicts in the elevator. He took off his sunglasses, revealing baby blue eyes and a cocky smile Hannibal would have remembered anywhere.

"Lynch," he growled, dashing out of the elevator and into the lobby. He made it about halfway there before Face and BA caught up to him, restraining their CO from landing a punch in the CIA agent's face.

"Well, well, well, Hannibal, nice to see you, it's been a long time. Finally caught ch'ya, you're gettin' sloppy." Lynch sauntered (if that were even possibly for a man) over to the team, more men in uniforms following him and surrounding Hannibal, Face, and BA. Hannibal stared into Lynch's eyes, the phrase 'if looks could kill' an understatement to his expression.

"Aw, I'm sorry 'bout your idiot pilot. But you know how he can get a little rowdy sometimes, remember? The courtroom? No one wants that again," Lynch taunted the men; Face easily took the bait. Lynch couldn't say anything about him, not now.

"Shut up you son of bitch, go rot in Hell," Face growled through clenched teeth.

"Ah, ah, ah, you're gonna be next Peck. Now, get them in the truck, we're going back to the temp HQ," Lynch commanded the squads as they roughly shoved the men through the doors. Outside was a mess of cars and trucks, lights and sirens going off everywhere. Lynch's henchmen shoved them all into the back of a squad car as the doors were closed and bolted behind them. No way of escape. Face stood up on the seat of the truck, trying to catch a glimpse of where the men had taken Murdock. He couldn't see anything through the endless stream of CIA goons, they seemed to be everywhere.

Face jumped back down onto his seat, rubbing his eyes with his palms,

"Well this is just great."

"Everything'll be alright kid, don't worry. There's-"

"I swear to God if you say 'there's a plan in everything' I will beat yo' ass right here Hannibal," B.A. growled, but the men could hear the hopelessness laced in his voice.

Hannibal looked over at B.A., sadness for his teammates despair in his brown eyes.

"At least it's the CIA this time," he sighed, crossing his arms, "at least they have rules."

"They might have rules, but Lynch sure doesn't. Not after what we did to him," Face mumbled through his hands.

"That fool better be careful with Murdock, otherwise he's in for a big surprise."

'_Shit_.' Face hadn't even thought about that. The rest of the ride was quiet, the three men sitting in silence, hoping that Lynch wouldn't press a wrong button with Murdock, for Murdock _and_ Lynch's sake.

* * *

**A/N: Just in case you were wondering, the next chapter WILL use Down With the Sickness ;) Thanks so much for reading!**


	15. Chapter 14: Memories

**A/N: Hello all! Sorry about the last chapter. To those of you that tried to review and it said that you had already reviewed that chapter, it was because I had deleted an author's note that really wouldn't have made sense to anyone that wasn't following the story at the time, so I guess all the other chapters got moved up one, and it thought you had reviewed the new chapter. Again, really sorry :( But thank you for all of the messages and reviews, they mean so much to me :)**

**So this time, the chapter is my normal length, and I realized how short the last one was. I'm going to be having a lot more time to write because finals are finally over! Thank God. And now it's Winter Break with absolutely NO homework! :)**

**Well, enjoy! IYD24**

* * *

Chapter 14: Memories

Murdock woke up to his head pounding like none other, handcuffed to a metal chair in a small metal room.

'_Well,'_ he thought, _'this is new.'_ He felt like he was in some lame cop show, waiting for two officers to play the old 'good-cop-bad-cop' routine. As the seconds ticked by Murdock leaned back in his chair, tapping a beat on the metal table and whistling along:

'_Drowning deep in my sea of loathing... broken, your servant, I kneel...'_

He turned as the huge metal down finally swung to side and in came the last person Murdock was expecting to see: Lynch.

"Hey Lynchie! How's it going?" Murdock asked brightly, "Backstab any partners lately?"

"Cut the crap James, we have you leader and the rest of your team in custody," Lynch snapped.

Murdock swallowed hard, trying to hold his composure, "That's Captain to you, agent Dumbass," Murdock tossed his hair out of his eyes, smirking at the CIA agent.

"Actually, as far as I know, you got your ranks stripped, am I right? Or did the military let you keep the name when they dishonorably discharged you?" Lynch smiled as he saw the pilot stiffen, his jaw tightening.

"What's it to you? I could still out fly, out fight, or outwit you anytime I wanted to."

Lynch stood up angrily, leaning over the table towards Murdock,

"Listen James, I'm not hear to play any games with you,"

"Really? That's too bad, I love games. We could play Scrabble, or Monopoly, or-"

"Will you shut up?" Lynch yelled, bringing his fist back. Fortunately his better judgment overtook him then as he straightened up from the table, hastily running his hand through his hair as he turned his back to Murdock. Murdock smirked; this guy was a piece of cake.

"So Lynchie, why am I here anyways? If you got the rest of my team then I'm guessing you don't need me to tell you where they are. That is, unless you've lost them already," Murdock grinned, satisfied with watching Lynch's fists clench in anger.

Lynch swallowed back his anger once more, letting a sly smirk work it's way across his face, "Oh no, no, no Mr. Murdock, we've got your friends locked up nice and tight. There's no way they'd be able to escape,"

"Are they together?"

"What?" Lynch turned around in confusion.

"I'm sorry Lynchie, was that too fast for you?" Murdock taunted, sticking his lip out in a fake pout before leaning towards the agent, "Are, they, to-ge-ther?"

"What difference does it make?" Lynch was growing annoyed quickly, _Why did I think talking to this nut job was going to get me anywhere?_

Murdock laughed and cocked his head to the side, "Boy, you sure are dumber than a bag of doorknobs... No wait, I'm sorry, I owe doorknobs an apology," a new look started to seep into Murdock's eyes as he stared Lynch down, as if daring him to do something they both knew would get Lynch fired.

"Watch yourself soldier," Lynch growled.

"Thought I wasn't a soldier anymore, huh Lynchie? Or is your head just not connected to your mouth? Doesn't matter though, there's no brain to tell it what to say anyways." Lynch's eyes flashed pure anger as he flew at Murdock, leaning over the table until he was centimeters away from Murdock's face.

"Now you listen to me you worthless lunatic, you are in _my_ custody. One word, _one_ word from me and you'll be off to the nearest mental hospital, you hear me?" Lynch seethed, his breath making Murdock's hair move slightly. Murdock knew he should be scared, terrified, but all he felt was anger.

"Do it. I dare you. I triple-dog dare you," he whispered back at Lynch, his eyes unwavering. Just then, a relatively small man with glasses and a piece of paper walked into the interrogation room. Lynch straightened up, the small man quickly approaching him and whispering something into his ear. Lynch's eyes grew wide, his ears turning the color of ripe tomatoes.

"_WHAT?" _He screamed at the man, making him jump about three feet in the air.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm sorry," he said quickly before half-walking, half-running out of the room.

'_No way, no freakin' way' _Murdock thought to himself as a huge smirk started to appear, _'This is just way too good.'_

"Their gone aren't they?" Murdock asked. Lynch snapped towards him,

"Where are they? Where did they run too?"

Murdock couldn't help himself, he burst out laughing at the CIA agent, unable to stop until tears were starting to form in his eyes. He looked back at Lynch, his unbelievably red face just making Murdock laugh more. Finally Murdock, panting and still letting out a giggle every now and then, looked up at Lynch,

"Honestly, how the hell should I know? I've been in here the whole time, Poindexter!"

"_God dammit,"_ Lynch muttered under his breath. He looked at Murdock, "I've had enough of you. Wait here, I _will_ find out where they are. They wouldn't leave you here, I know that much, so there's only so many miles they can hide. Someone will be here shortly to... persuade you to tell them the A-Team's hideout."

"Oh boy, visitors! I get a break from seeing your ugly face! So long, Lynchie!" Murdock cried as the CIA agent stormed out of the room, stomping down the hallway until he found who he was looking for.

"You've been to the crime scene, right?" Lynch asked the tall, medium-built man with short hair and a permanent poker face.

"Yeah, definitely the A-Team, I found a video there that I believe Mr. Murdock will find to be... quite a trip down memory lane," the man said emotionlessly, making Lynch feel a tad bit uneasy. This man was frightening, even to his standards. He definitely would not want to be interrogated by him.

"Good, good. Well, he's ready for you." Lynch said warily, watching the man closely as he got up from the desk, walking down the hall to the interrogation room without another word.

'_Creep,'_ Lynch thought.

Inside, Murdock had resorted to tapping and whistling again as the same song kept repeating itself over and over and over inside his head:

'_Looking at my own reflection, when suddenly it changes... violently, it changes...'_

'_I hope the guys get here soon, Lynchie can be so annoying...'_

'_You're worthless, you are nothing. They'd never come back for you...'_

Murdock sucked in a breath and sat up straighter as the door opened for the third time since he'd been there; but the man that came in this time was very different from the others. He was medium height, medium weight, black and white suite, really the most ordinary-looking man Murdock had ever seen in his life. His eyes were covered by sunglasses (even though they were indoors) which made Murdock feel even more uncertain of him.

'_Who the hell is this guy? Did they just pull him out of the Matrix...?'_

The man sat down in front of him with a slow deliberateness; Murdock found himself staring at his reflection through the scary man's shades.

"Captain James "Howling Mad" Murdock..." the man said slowly, "It's an... honor to meet you."

"Yeah, wish I could say the same," Murdock mumbled, trying to find anywhere to look except the man's face. Something was off about this guy, something bad. He wasn't somebody you wanted to screw with, Murdock could tell that much.

"I hear your friends just got the jump on our CIA agents here Mr. Murdock, would you care to tell me where they might be?" Murdock stiffened, his breath starting to come out shaky. He didn't like the way the man said 'Mr. Murdock', it was too slow, too judgmental, too... slimy.

"I don't know nothing, you want them then go find 'em yourself," Murdock huffed. He crossed his arms in front of him, resembling a youth that was in the principal's office for being caught vandalizing.

"Now, now Mr. Murdock, don't be like that. I'm sure we can work out some way to compromise, right? How about I let you go, you'd like that, wouldn't you? All I need is the address of your friends' hideout, just one address." The man slowly smiled, it was one of the creepiest things Murdock had ever seen in his life.

"You can go to hell," Murdock spat, watching the man closely through his mop of hair.

"Ah, now them, let's get one thing straight here: I have authority over you. I tell you what to do, not the other way around. I can make your life a living hell Mr. Murdock, just say the word." As if on cue, the same small man that had visited Lynch came through the heavy metal door, wheeling a small television set up on a cart before leaving quickly.

"I think this is something you need to see Mr. Murdock, just a little something to remind you of what's at stake, what will happen to you if you refuse to cooperate." The man snapped his fingers, and a second later the lights went off, leaving the man and Murdock alone in the dark.

Murdock swallowed, _'Oh no, not that video please... I swear to God...I just survived Scotty, why do we need a recap?' _Murdock pulled at the handcuffs keeping him in his chair, but only succeeded in reddening his wrists. Meanwhile, the man had gotten a remote from the shelf underneath the television, and with the push of a button, the screen flashed to life. A piece of paper was held up to the screen,

"_Patient number 528491; name: James Murdock; war pilot, stationed in Iraq. Illness: Schizophrenia, mild paranoia, and attention deficit disorder. Experimental treatment test number one,"_

Murdock gasped, his heart leaping into his throat as he watched the screen. The paper moved out of the way to reveal a very thin man in all white hooked up to some machine with lots of wires, another older looking man sitting in a chair across from him with a clipboard. A third man stood behind a large machine.

"_Now then Mr. Murdock, how are we today?"_

"_Finer than an apple pie in July, Doctor!"_

"_Do you know why you're here?"_

"_Is it 'cause of what happened at lunch? Because I swear to God, Andrew started it! There was so a spider in his mashed potatoes!"_

"_Sir, should we start the electric charges?"_

"_What? What electric-?"_

"_Yes, I believe so,"_

"_What..? Dr. Richter, what's happen- AAAAHHHHHH!"_

Murdock's eyes started to water as he looked away from the screen, his hands shaking so heavily the handcuffs rattled against the table.

"Where did you get this you son of a bitch?" He whispered.

"Asylums don't keep very good security Mr. Murdock, no wonder you escaped so easily. Now shh, no talking during the movie; this is my favorite part," the man returned his gaze to the television screen, ignoring the nearly-hyperventilating pilot across the table from him.

The screaming on-screen continued for a few minutes until it abruptly cut off and was replaced by heavy breathing,

"_Now Murdock, you mustn't try to escape the facility anymore, you understand?"_

"_Doc... Doc! Oh Doc you gotta help me, I've been feeling the strangest thing lately. It's like, it's like I'm bein' struck by lightning, over and over again. And, and it just won't let up. You got any meds for something like that, Doc?"_

"_James: Do, you, understand?"_

The screams came back, more intense than the last time, but for not nearly as long.

"_Y-yes Doc, I understand."_

"_Good."_

"_Subject shows compliance, while at the same time a heavy fatigue..."_

"_Gee I wonder why, nimrod! Maybe it's 'cause I just got the ever-freakin'-lovin' shocked out of me! I swear to God if I could get out of these chains-"_

"_Murdock! Calm yourself!"_

"_Don't you tell me to calm down!"_

"_Subject shows burst of rage, possible anger management problems-"_

"_Don't you DARE try and diagnose me, you quack!"_

"_Murdock!"_

The man in the chair stood up, revealing a syringe from his coat,

"_NO! No Doc, please! Anythin' but that, I'm beggin' you!" _

The man in the coat, oblivious to the thrashing man's pleas, walked over calmly and grabbed the man's hair, sticking the needle smoothly into the man's neck.

"_Doc...please..."_

A small sob cut off the chain man's words as he quickly went limp. The doctor looked over at the third man tiredly,

"_Do you have what you need, sir?"_

"_Yes doctor, thank you. Your patient has provided us with a lot of feedback."_

"_Wonderful. So I'll see you again tomorrow?"_

"_Absolutely."_

The doctor called for some men in white, who unhooked the unconscious man from the wires, attached to him and carried him out of the room. The last man that remained in the room disappeared behind the camera,

"_Test one over, tests will resume first thing tomorrow morning, goodnight."_

**A/N: Oh, and if anyone can give me the meaning behind the numbers '5 28491', you will officially be my best friend AND I'll give you a sneak preview of the next chapter ;)**

**Pretty please review! Happy Holiday! **


	16. Chapter 15: Demon in Me

**A/N: Hello all! Thankfully no month-long wait this time ;) I was a bit stuck on one part, but I was listening to Unwell by Matchbox Twenty and that was the inspiration I needed! That song just fits Murdock so well, doesn't it?**

**Anyways, congrats to everyone that caught my little imput of geekness. The numbers (528491) were the six numbers that Fischer named off the top of his head in Inception. I'm completely obsessed with that movie haha, almost as much as the A-Team.**

**And also just wanted to say thank you for all the kind reviews, they really do mean a lot to me :)**

**Well, I know you didn't come here to read my author's note, so enjoy!**

**_Warning: This chapter gets a bit... darker. So, just giving you a fair warning_.**

**Chapter 15: Demon in Me**

"Why are you doing this to me?" Murdock whimpered, fighting to keep tears from streaming down his face once more. They had been watching videos for almost an hour and the slimy man, who had only revealed his name to be Smith (which made Murdock once again think back to the Matrix), did not show any signs of stopping.

"I already told you Mr. Murdock," Smith continued in his same, droning voice, "This can all stop, you can be free, I just need the location of the rest of your team, that's all." Murdock huffed, shuddering and forcing himself to look back at the screen.

"_Patient number 528491; name: James Murdock; war pilot, stationed in Iraq. Illness: Schizophrenia and severe paranoia; experimental treatment test number twenty-four. Subject has grown consistently compliant and has responded well to the sedatives given to him. On several occasions, the subject has been said to have experienced flashbacks while asleep, and several nightmares, but these occurrences proved inconclusive. Today we will be studying a different technique which involves having the patient relive childhood or past traumas in order for them to stand up to their fears and illnesses."_

Murdock's chest heaved; his throat raw from sobbing and screaming at Smith to turn off the videos.

'_No, God no, I can't take much more of this. Please, just make it stop!'_

'_You can, all you need to do is give Smith your team's location, that's all.'_

'_I could never do that! They're my family, I'd never betray them, I won't.'_

'_I guess there's only one option left...'_

'_Kill him.'_

Smith looked across the table at the man that was proving the hardest person to break he had ever seen. He wondered if it was because this man had already been cracked long before he had met him. Murdock stared back at him, and Smith had to do a double-take. The whole hour Smith had been interrogating Murdock the only emotions he's ever seen were pain and fright, but now Murdock's eyes were like fiery daggers as he glared at Smith.

Murdock was livid; he didn't know where it came from but all he knew was that he was not going to let this man win. He _would not_ be broken, not again.

'_Do it, you know you can...'_

'_He deserves it...'_

'_There's no turning back now, you've woken up the demon... in me...'_

"Alright Mr. Murdock, I think we've had enough of this; Ryan, the lights?"

The small man had returned once again, taking out the television and flipping on the harsh florescent lights. Ryan tried stand tall, feeling the need to show his dominance as the thin man chained the table was truly beginning to frighten him. He didn't know what they were doing to him, but he could tell that it wasn't going to end well for anyone.

"So Mr. Murdock, how about that address? Maybe if you ask nicely we can get you one of the nice padded cells, the ones where the walls not only melt but they spin around too, it's enough to drive you crazy."

Murdock glared at him, Smith swearing to God that if it were possible Murdock could have lit him on fire with the intensity of his fury. And then, like a light switch, it was gone. Murdock eyes gleamed as he gave a lopsided grin.

"Crazy? I went crazy once. They locked me in a room with rubber walls. It was dark. I liked it there. I died. They buried me where the flowers grew. There were worms there. The worms ate my brain. It drove me crazy. Crazy? I went crazy once. They locked me in a room-"

Smith slammed his fist down on the table, "Dammit I don't have time for this! Where are they?"

Murdock glanced at Smith's fist, then up to his face, "Well then, aren't we just a little impatient?"

Smith groaned in frustration, straightening up and turning his back to Murdock. Murdock chuckled, _'these people are all the same.'_

Smith turned back around, leaning in real close, "Alright, I'm done. Listen you crazy son of a bitch, either you tell me where the hell your convict buddies are, or I find them myself and when I do, I'm going to kill them all one by one."

"You wouldn't dare," Murdock growled, flashes of his nightmares clouding his vision.

"That's right, and I'm going to start with that smug-ass Lieutenant Peck. I'm going to kill him slowly, and right before he's gone I'm going to whisper in his ear exactly who he has to thank for his death."

"SHUT UP! YOU SHUT UP YOU BASTARD!" Murdock kicked and thrashed in his chair, the handcuffs tearing his wrists as he desperately tried to free himself, all to no avail.

'_I can see inside you, the sickness is rising. Don't try to deny what you feel...'_

Smith laughed at stood up as he stared at the enraged pilot in front of him, "And you know what? Next I'm going to kill your beloved Hannibal Smith, and watch him as he mumbles with his dying breath about how there's a plan in everything, and that everything has a reason."

'_It seems that all that was good has died, and is decaying in me...'_

Tears ran down Murdock's face as he finally gave up on thrashing, his bloody wrists shaking. His hair covering his eyes as Smith continued laughing at him,

"You know what? I bet when you give us the address of their hideout they won't even be there. I'll bet they'll be long gone, glad to finally get away from _you_. You are worthless, no one would want you. The only reason the team ever kept you was so that they'd have some way to get through the air. Now that you're gone I'll bet they are having the time of their lives. I bet they watched the video your dear from Scotty gave them and _laughed_."

Murdock slowly looked up at Smith, the darkness returning to his eyes like it had in the bathroom, only this time... it was winning. Part of him was screaming to stop, screaming at the top of his lungs to pull himself together; but most of him really didn't give a damn.

'_It seems you're having some trouble in dealing with these changes, living with these changes...'_

Smith, oblivious to his stare, kept right one going.

"You know, I'm amazing they kept you all this time. All you do, all you've ever done, is get in people's way. I bet that's why your mother died, after your dad left she just couldn't bear having to live with you alone. You are insane, a reject, a no one, a..." Smith trailed off as he noticed for the first time Murdock's iron-melting glower. Smith was at a loss for words as he backed up slowly, actually getting nervous about his prisoner. Murdock locked his gaze onto Smith, and Smith visibly flinched when he heard the snap of the handcuffs breaking off of the chair. Murdock paced steadily across the room as Smith backed up against the wall...

'_Oh, the world is a scary place now that you've woken up the demon in me...'_

Twenty Minutes Earlier...

"Hannibal, what the hell are we going to do? We can't just leave him there!" Face paced frantically across the length of the van they had parked a few blocks down from the station.

"You think I don't know that Lieutenant? I'm thinking as fast as I can!" Hannibal snapped back, holding his head in his hands as he sat on the edge of the van. B.A. watching both of them in silence, leaning on the door of his girl, hoping that one of them would think of _something_, and soon.

"Hannibal, I don't know how, but I feel like Murdock's in real pain right now. He's not going to be able to last much longer," Face looked at Hannibal, genuine fear for his friend in his eyes.

Hannibal looked back at him, "It's no wonder you're getting a feeling from him, you two are practically brothers. It's a wonder you two can't read each other's minds."

"That doesn't matter right now, we gotta help him!" Face yelled frantically.

"There are too many men there!"

"I DON'T FREAKING CARE!"

"_HEY!"_ B.A. managed to yell over the two other men, "We ain't gonna solve nothing unless we keep calm and think up a plan! Hannibal, you better get those gears in your head turnin' real fast." He gave the Colonel a death glare, signaling the end of the argument. Hannibal turned back to Face,

"Face, how many explosives do we have in the van?"

"I don't know, a lot; nothing that could break through a concrete wall though. It's all mostly flashy stuff, fireworks and things like that."

"Good, that's all we need." Hannibal flashed a smile that the men had grown to love and hate as he got out a cigar, ready to unleash his master plan.

'_Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God...'_

'_There it is, there's the real you. You always knew it was in you somewhere...'_

'_No, no! I couldn't have, he can't be! Shit...'_

'_They were right to lock you up; you're a danger to everyone around you...'_

'_You shut up!'_

'_I wonder how your 'friends' will react when they come in, when they see what you're truly capable of...'_

'_They wouldn't hurt me...'_

'_Hurt you? Ha! You'll be lucky of they come __near__ you...'_

'_Oh God...'_

Murdock shivered, his hands cold and shaking. He ran a hand through his hair, not caring if he smeared blood across his face, it wouldn't matter now. His back burned, the bullet wound in his stomach felt like it was on fire. Tears escaped down Murdock's cheek, out of guilt and fear instead of rage and frustration, he just wanted it all to be over.

'_You can end it you know, you can save you teammates from yourself...'_

'_But-but they... they wouldn't want me to, they'd miss me...'_

'_Miss you? Not after they see what you've done... and you're in so much pain, don't you want to end your suffering?'_

'_It's weak; it's a coward's way out...'_

'_Don't think of it that way, think of it as... a way to save your friends. What would you have done if it had been Face yelling at you? Or B.A.? Would you be able to control the real you?'_

Murdock choked on a sob, sliding down the wall until he was curled up on the floor. He held his face in his hands, the redness of them only making him cry harder. Slowly, very slowly, he half-crawled, half-stumbled his way over to the bloody, motionless figure, searching around in his pockets for something, anything, that would be useful. Finding none, he looked around the room until his eyes landed on a rickety stool that lay on its side. He walked over to it, grabbing the piece of wood that ran between two of the legs. He snapped it off with little hesitation, and easily snapped that piece in half, creating jagged edges.

'_There you go. Now hurry, before that becomes one of your friends' wrist...'_

Murdock couldn't stop shaking the entire time, even when the blood loss started to make his hands and feet go numb.

'_I'm sorry guys, I really am... It's just... safer this way...'_

Ryan sat in the office of the temporary HQ, mindlessly looking over the four cameras that surveyed the small building. Well, three cameras actually; the one in the interrogation room had been broken, he guessed Lynch got a little too angry while trying to get a legitimate response out of Captain Murdock. As far as he was concerned they were going at it all wrong, he meant _all_ of it. In his mind, the A-Team weren't bad people at all.

'_I mean, they spend every second their not being persecuted helping other people, they seem more like saints than dangerous criminals. But of course, what do I know? I'm just another CIA agent, another faceless drone...' _Ryan sighed, looking over the camera again before a blast from outside caught his attention. He looked outside the window and gaped at the explosions going off, setting trees and cars on fire. _'Holy smokes!'_ he thought to himself before quickly regaining his composure. He looked at the three officers that were all staring through the glass doors with similar expressions on their face.

"What are you guys waiting for?" Ryan yelled at them, "Go see what's going on!" He hated delegating jobs that he was obviously capable of doing himself, but Lynch had ordered him to keep an eye on the cameras. Smith had been working 'round the clock on the Captain, and Ryan was starting to get worried about both of them. He stood up and was heading for the door when three men burst through the door.

'_No freaking way...'_

**A/N 2: Also, the lyrics for this chapter and the previous are Down With the Sickness by Disturbed, I don't own them or the A-Team, etc.**

**PLEASE review! Thank you so much for reading! IYD24**

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	17. Chapter 16: Just a Little Unwell

**A/N: Alright, I guess I can't keep my word at ALL. I promised you a few days and what do you get? Two freakin' weeks! I'm sorry guys, I know you're probably tired of apologies but that's all I got for you. I try, I do, highschool is just so... eh haha. Please try and be patient.**

**Thank you to EVERYONE that reviewed, you guys are so so amazing and every single one of you just make my day. I don't care if you've never reviewed before, and honestly sometimes it's those random reviews 2 weeks after I've posted by someone who's never reviewed before that really push me to write the next chapter (*cough* ****frontyardgnome, Tramontana *cough*) ;) But really you guys, every review means the world to me.**

**Enjoy! :)**

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Chapter 16: Just a Little Unwell

Face couldn't help but smirk at the looks on the officers' faces as they ran outside, fireworks and explosives going off left and right. He kept lighting off more and more until B.A. and Hannibal managed to sneak up behind the men in a cloud of smoke and take them out.

"All clear Face!" B.A. yelled, waving his hand for the Lieutenant to get down from his stealthy position in the tree. He slid down quickly, a branch whipping him in the face.

"Ow! Damn it, why did it have to be my face?" He whined, pressing a hand down on his cheek. He ran over to the other two and joined them in bursting through the front door. Lynch was no where in sight; in fact, there was no one in sight. B.A. had quickly taken out the single CIA agent that had been too dumbfounded to even say anything.

"I don't like this, boys, something feels wrong," Hannibal said warily, looking around the office. Face could feel it too; something was making his stomach uneasy, and he had the most terrible feeling of dread.

"Let's keep going, the interrogation rooms are in the back." Face said, pleased that his voice didn't shake. B.A. marched down the hallway, Face and Hannibal following close behind him. They kept an eye out for Lynch, but were more focused on finding their captain. They came to a line of three doors, two of which were open.

"Ten bucks says it's this one..." Face said absentminded-ly, staring at the door with apprehension. His feeling of dread was getting stronger.

"No shit, man," B.A. murmured, looking into the room from the two-way mirror that ran a good four feet. "Oh fuck..." B.A. whispered before running and slamming through the door. Hannibal and Face followed once again, the big man confusing them.

As soon as they stepped into the room they could smell blood, a lot of it. Hannibal's eyes widened at a bloody man lying motionlessly in the corner. Fear shot through him for half a second before he realized that was not Murdock. He ran over and found a dangerously faint pulse, but no doubt the man was alive.

"MURDOCK!" Face screamed as his eyes finally landed on the pilot, hunched over against a wall, shaking.

"Murdock? Buddy? We're here," Face edged towards him slowly. Murdock's shirt was covered in blood, blood smeared against his hair as well. Hannibal had left the man on the floor and stood behind Face, B.A. by his side. Face knelt down, reaching a hand out to cautiously place it on Murdock's shoulder

"Murdock? Whatever he did to you... we're here now, you're safe. Murdock?" Murdock still didn't answer as Face cautiously lifted up him up to eye level.

"_Jesus Christ!"_ Face screamed as he fell backwards, eyes widening. Hannibal and B.A. let out similar exclamations. Murdock has his arms crossing his chest, blood streaming out from long, ugly gashes in his wrists. His eyes were open but glazed over, tears dried on his face. His mouth was open slightly but no words came out as he gasped heavily.

"Murdock! W-What the hell?" Face was frozen in shock at the state his friend was in. Thankfully B.A. was able to think fast as his took his shirt off and ripped two long pieces of fabric off of it, pushing past Face to get to Murdock. He tried to grab his arm, but Murdock reflexively resisted, holding his arms to himself.

"Fool don't you _dare_ try and stop me!" B.A. growled as he yanked Murdock's arm towards him, overwhelmed by the amount of blood before tying the strips of cloth around his wrists.

"I-I-I-" Murdock tried to talk but his voice kept shaking too hard as B.A. finished tying up his wrists. The sergeant then scooped the pilot up into in his arms, not even paying attention to the other men in the room. He turned to Face, who was starting to walk towards the bloody figure in a sort of dazed state, and Hannibal, who had turned his back the second he saw Murdock's wrists. As B.A. moved towards the door, Hannibal stuck out an arm, ever so gently brushing Murdock's hair out of his face, a silent question lost in his eyes.

"I'ma take him back to the van, you and Face can hang out here while I try and fix him up. But the second you hear sirens, you run to the van, no matter what, okay?" B.A. gave the Colonel a hard stare, not in anger but in reassurance.

Hannibal nodded, running a hand through his graying hair before sniffing loudly, "Yeah, I got it. Thanks B.A." B.A. nodded once before disappearing out the door.

Face crouched nearer to the man that lay in the corner of the room. Bruises lined every inch of his exposed skin, long lines appearing around the man's neck. Face couldn't help but notice how they fit in place with Murdock's long piano hands. Both of the man's eyes were blackened, his nose looked broken in several places, and his jaw looked slightly out of place. A quick gasp of the man's breath told Face that at least one, if not more, of the man's ribs were either cracked or broken.

"How is he?" Hannibal's rough voice came from behind him.

"He's... alive. He'll make it to a hospital. There doesn't seem to be any wounds that are bleeding too much. But... man, what could this guy have _done_?"

"I don't know Face, I really don't. We should get back to the van, the police and probably an ambulance will be here soon to take away this monster, Murdock doesn't need a man's death on his hands." Hannibal's eyes narrowed, thinking of the state his son was in, how broken their captain was.

"But... I think Murdock already thinks he's dead. I mean, why else would he...?" Face couldn't bear to finish the sentence as his face scrunched up in thought.

"I don't know. We should go to B.A., he's probably done fixing Murdock's..." Hannibal's voice cut off as he swallowed hard, "...fixing Murdock's wrists by now."

"I can't do it Hannibal; I can't stand to see him like that. Even when you brought him to us the first time, even then he wasn't that bad. He was never... suicidal." Face cringed at that word being associated with his best friend, with his surrogate brother.

Hannibal's eyes grew misty as they stared off towards the upper corner of the room, "That's because that wasn't the first time I had seen him. When I first met him... Jesus, when I first met him he was the most broken down man I had ever seen. It wasn't just the straight jacket, the electrical burns, or the padded cell. There was something, some wild spark in his eye that kept everyone except me and certain nurses at least ten feet away. And I thought... I thought over time that it had developed into one of happiness, a spark of a man that was crazy with eccentric ideas, with unlimited possibilities. Seeing him just now... he looked as broken as the first time I'd met him." Face gaped at his colonel, tears running down the older man's face as he refused to make eye contact.

"ALRIGHT, BOTH OF YOU ON THE GROUND! NOW!"

Face and Hannibal snapped their gaze to the door to find Lynch, his gun pointed out directly in front of him. His hand shook slightly as it kept switching from Face to Hannibal. Face stole one knowing look at Hannibal, resolved dread playing across his face,

"I just can't, Hannibal. Not like that."

All of the sudden Face sprung at Lynch, tackling him to the ground. The two fought for the gun at Face turned his face to his C.O.

"Hannibal, RUN!" Face yelled. Hannibal hated himself for leaving a fellow soldier, but jumped over the two and ran down the hall. As he was leaving his heard a gunshot go off and Face scream. Hannibal cursed under his breath, praying to God that Lynch wasn't shooting to kill. He made it out of the godforsaken building and circled behind it, slowly making his way to the van as he tried to catch his breath.

When he finally made his way over, panting slightly, he found B.A. leaning against the side of the van, the door open to the chilly air.

"B.A., status report," he gasped.

B.A. jumped a bit, turning towards the older man before running a hand over his Mohawk, "Man, the fool hasn't said a word. I fixed him up alright, should stop the bleeding and everything, but... it's like the fool doesn't even know his own name. He just keeps mumbling some stuff, then some numbers, then goes back to mumbling."

Hannibal chewed his bottom lip, "That's what I was afraid of. He's recessing into his mind, going back in time and memories to try and forget what he's been through, what he thinks he did."

"If you can get him back, Hannibal, try man. Please, just try," B.A.'s eyes portrayed real concern, and Hannibal swallowed, mentally preparing himself before stepping in front of the open side of the van.

"Murdock?" He said softly. The man in the back of the van made no movement or signs of recognition, just sat there rocking back and forth, whispering to himself. Hannibal called out his name again, still no response. Hannibal felt himself tearing up for the God-knows-how-many-eth time today, bringing a hand up to his mouth. He felt B.A. come up behind him, ready to help with anything he could.

"Hannibal, do you know what to do?"

"Yeah Bosco, I do. I just don't like having to do it, not after all the progress that was made." Hannibal took a long, deep breath before his tone switched completely; no longer was it emotional, nervous, or sorrowful; just commanding.

"Patient number 5-2-8-4-9-1!"

Murdock's head snapped up, his eyes still partially glazed over and a snarl set deep in his face,

"What the hell do you want?"

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Time to buy a watch and shove it up your ass?" B.A.'s eyes widened at Murdock's crass language, looking over at Hannibal who didn't miss a beat.

"It's time for testing."

Murdock's expression changed completely, his eyes filling with terror as he tried to press himself against the wall of the van,

"No! No, no, no, please! Anything but that! I swear, I'll take the pills! I'll be good! Just _not that_!"

"B.A.," Hannibal whispered to the sergeant, "In the glove compartment are some of the pills we give you when we have to fly, grab me five."

B.A. looked at him incredulously, "Fool, one pill was enough to knock me out."

"You're not Murdock," Hannibal whispered as he turned his attention back to the cowering man in the van.

"Please Doc, I'm begging you, not today! I-I swear, I won't ever stab someone with a spoon ever again! It-it didn't even draw blood! Didn't you see?" Murdock pleaded with Hannibal, looking from side to side like a caged animal.

B.A. came back with a handful of blue pills. Hannibal took the pills from him, Murdock watching his every move.

"Alright Murdock, you can skip testing today _only _if you take these pills, _and_ if you promise to stay by this orderly while we go for a ride," Hannibal placed a hand on B.A. as B.A. jumped a bit, startled to be brought into the fantasy-land Hannibal had made up.

Murdock shook his head up and down rapidly. Hannibal gave him the five pills, which to B.A.'s surprise he dry-swallowed in a blink of an eye. Hannibal then closed the door to the van, heading towards the driver's side,

"Come on," he said.

"Where we going?" B.A. asked, "Who said you could drive? Wait... where's Faceman?"

"That's the problem," Hannibal growled as he slid into the driver's seat, "Lynch has Face, and we need to get him back." B.A. (grudgingly) got into the passenger seat, sliding it back as far as it could go.

"What about the fool?"

"We'll... worry about that later. For right now... he's safe, somewhere in his mind." Hannibal glanced back at the pilot, who was staring into space,

"Hey-hey Doc? These pills are actually working, what the hell did you put in these?" Murdock's words were slightly slurred before he collapsed onto the couch, his breathing deepening in seconds.

"Are you sure that's safe, man? Can't you get, like, liver failure from that or something?" B.A. looked back in concern. Hannibal started the engine, gripping the wheel as he shifted into drive,

"Trust me, if Murdock was going to get liver failure from taking pills or having different combinations of meds, his liver would have failed a long time ago. Now, let's find our Lieutenant and see if this team can ever have all its men together again."

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**A/N: Alright you guys, honest opinions: Does this story feel like it's being dragged out? I mean, at this point the focus is no longer on what the summary is about, but it all flows too much for me to break it off and start a sequel. Do you think I should just modify the summary? Thoughts?**

**Also, some song choices I'm thinking of using in the next few chapters:**

**Psycho- Puddle of Mudd (HIGHLY recommended to ANY Murdock fan ;))**

**Freak On a Leash- Korn (I don't know why I've been into using metal songs so much lately, if metal isn't your thing I apologize and I promise once the team is trully whole again then we'll have some more acoustic-y songs)**

**PLEASE review! Thank you so much for reading! :D IYD24**


	18. Chapter 17: Convergence of Misfortune

**A/N: Hey, finally got it up! Sad to say that this will probably be the second or third to last chapter in the story :( But I think it's all starting to come to an end. I started an epilogue of some sort already, I'll give you a hint: It has to do with something Face says or thinks in this chapter ;)**

**Thanks for being so gosh darn patient! ;) Enjoy!**

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Chapter 17: Convergence of Misfortune

"_I was walkin' down the street when out of the corner of my eye I saw a pretty little thing approaching me, she said, 'I never seen a man who looks so all alone, now you use a little company? Now if you pay the right price, your evening will be nice and you can go and send me on my way.' I said, 'You're such a sweet young thing, now why do you do this to yourself?' She looked at me and this is what she said, oh..."_

"Does he ever shut up?" Lynch frustratingly looked at the short CIA agent monitoring the camera to the interrogation room, watching the tanned man beat his hands on the table in a sort of rhythm.

"Nope, he's been singing since about five minutes after he woke up."

"How's his arm doing?" He asked.

"Looks fine." The Lieutenant's bandaged arm did not seem to be holding him back any as he used the entire metal table as his make-believe drum set.

"_Oh no, I can't slow down, I can't hold back; though you know I wish I could. Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good."_ His song continued obnoxiously and out of tune until Lynch stormed in through the metal door, not looking Face in the eyes.

"Heh-hey, Lynch! What a shocker. Come to take me away?" Face's bright blue eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I'm not in the mood, Peck. Now shut up and tell me where your team is or so help me I will make your life a living hell."

"Well now, you see, the problem is that my team isn't with me, so I can't really tell you where they are. But if I had to guess... I'd say they were probably on their way here to kick your ass." Face grinned smugly at the agent. Lynch looked down at his feet for a moment before looking back up and matching Face's gaze.

"Listen Peck, I'm trying to help you. I can get your record clean, I can get you back in the army without so much as parole; all you need to do is tell me where Smith and the others are." Face was taken aback by Lynch's words, but soon anger started to set into his eyes as he leaned forward until he was inches from Lynch's face.

"You took my friend, you tortured him past his breaking point, and then you just left him there. I want nothing more than to see you dead," Face growled, sitting back in his chair with an emotionless expression on his face. Lynch sucked in a breath and straightened up, staring at Face for a moment before leaving the room in a hurry.

As soon as Face heard the door slam shut he let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. He leaned forward on the metal table, holding his head in his hands. The last few hours began to catch up with him as he remembered finding Murdock, finding him broken on the floor. _'Dear God buddy, why's it always you? Why can't I ever save you in time?' _He thought back to the countless missions they had gone on, wondering how Murdock was always the one that ended up injured. However, as he thought more carefully, he realized that Murdock getting injured wasn't a mistake or coincidence.

Thinking back, Murdock _threw_ himself at danger, every chance he got. Whenever they were someplace knew Murdock would always go bounding ahead, more times than not being captured or knocked out. Whenever they were being held hostage Murdock would always start spouting something crazy or start singing song lyrics so that the thugs would focus on him. _'Jesus,'_ Face thought, _'does Murdock have some sort of twisted, sadistic compulsion?' _That didn't seem right, Murdock never seemed to _enjoy_ the pain he was going through, but he never complained and when he could, never even made noise while he was being beaten, stabbed, shocked, whipped, or anything. _'He sacrifices himself for us constantly, and we just blame it all on his crazy antics... he knows exactly what he's risking every time he pulls shit like that...'_

Face didn't know whether to laugh or cry at what he'd just figured out. Murdock was quite possibly the most selfless person Face had ever met; either that or the biggest martyr in history, probably both. _'Why, Murdock? Why would you do that? We can take care of ourselves. You don't need to be throwing yourself in front of us every time something goes wrong.'_

Face didn't have time to continue his epiphany as Lynch came through the metal door again, his baby face stern and unreadable.

"Hey there bright eyes," Face said with a smile. Lynch said nothing and simply went to the opposite side of the room, leaning his back against the wall and staring Face down. This made Face a bit more nervous than usual; Lynch was not one to just ignore taunts like that.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Lynch," Face continued, "You know I didn't mean it; I'm sure your quite the macho man." Still Lynch said nothing, simply glaring at him with as much intensity as when he got soda on the seat of B.A.'s van.

"What's up Lynch? You lost your voice or somethin'?" Face asked tentatively.

"I'm just not in the mood, Peck." Came a grumbled reply.

"Then why are you in here?"

"I'm waiting."

"For...?"

Lynch smiled, "the green light." The hairs on the back of Face's neck stood up at that and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. _'Guys, you might want to hurry; I think Lynch has just gotten serious...'_

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"So Doc, where's this new place we got to be goin' to?" Murdock's lively voice came from the back of the van. Just in time as well, B.A. was seriously starting to think that the Colonel had OD-ed him.

Hannibal kept his eyes on the road, not skipping a beat, "Just a new facility 528391, nothing major."

"Can we stop for a potty break?"

"Nope." Hannibal said curtly.

"Aw, come on, man! Give a guy a break!"

"I said no." B.A. gave Hannibal a sideways glance, still a bit peeved about being seated in the passenger seat of his own van.

"You ain't even stoppin' for the fool to go to the bathroom?"

"Trust me, B.A.," Hannibal said, "He doesn't have to go. If we stop at a gas station he'll just try to run away or kill himself."

"What?" B.A. looked at his C.O. incredulously.

"When I saw Murdock in the hospital one time he was in isolation not because he had harmed the other patients, but because he'd had eight escape attempts and five suicide attempts that week."

"Shit, man. I didn't think the fool was capable of..."

"He wasn't himself when he was there, he was a shell. That's what he is right now; he's a shadow of our Captain." B.A. stole a glance behind him, finding Murdock staring intently at the wall of the van. His eyes were fiery yet unfocused, and his posture was defensive; as if he was ready to go ape-shit on anyone that dated to touch him. _'Man,'_ B.A. thought to himself, _'There's still a whole other side of Murdock we ain't never seen before...'_

Hannibal made a hard right and stopped right in front of a small building with no distinguishable markings on it. It seemed to be only one story high, with maybe three or four rooms in it at the most. "This is the place," Hannibal stated.

"How...?-"

Hannibal pointed to two black vans stationed exactly a block down on each side. "Plus it couldn't have been too far from where they were before. Odds are this was their back-up place."

B.A. sighed, then got out of the van (_his_ van) and swung around to the side door, opening it up to find Murdock pressing a screwdriver to the inside of his elbow.

"Fool what the hell do you think you're doing?" B.A. screamed, slapping the flathead out of the Captain's hand. Murdock stared at it on the ground for a moment, then looked back up at B.A., a dark smirk slowly growing on his face

"_Did you ever see a hearse go by, and think that someday you'd surely die? They put you in a little box, and cover you over with dirt and rocks-"_

"That's enough, man!" B.A. said sharply, cutting Murdock off. Murdock closed his mouth obediently, sitting down cross-legged on the floor of the van. B.A. ran a hand over his Mohawk and met Hannibal at the back of the van, "Hannibal, I don't know how much more of him I can take. You were right, that's not him in there and it's freaking the hell out of me!"

"Calm down, B.A., we'll figure something out-"

"Stop saying that! When are we going to figure something out, huh? When?" Hannibal held B.A.'s gaze until the Sergeant finally dropped his head, "I'm sorry. Truthfully, the guy inside my van is scarin' me 'cause he looks like someone he ain't. And he's talkin' even crazier than the man he looks like."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Speaking of which, make sure he's still in the van." Hannibal started to peer around the side of the van, when his eyes widened drastically,

"Murdock!"

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A small beep emitted from Lynch's phone, causing Face to jump. They had been sitting in the room in silence for a good ten minutes straight and honestly Face had just gone from being scared to being bored. Lynch looked at his phone and smiled; a wide, toothy, little kid smile than for some reason made Face shiver. He was surprised, Lynch had never even come close to frightening him before.

"So what's that Lynch, you got a date?"

"Better," Lynch said as he revealed a live wire from his coat pocket and plugged it in to the outlet on the wall, "green light."

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**A/N: So there it is. I hope Murdock wasn't too OC in this chapter, I tried to make him sort of a mix between the original Dwight Shultz Murdock and just plain crazy Murdock. Let me know how I did :)**

**Credits:**

**"Ain't No Rest For the Wicked"- Cage the Elephant**

**The Hearse Song- I'm not really sure who it's by but Murdock sang it on one of the episodes of the A-Team, none of which I own.**

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review! And especially if you have story ideas, anything is welcome! Thanks for reading! IYD24**


	19. Chapter 18: Till We Close Our Eyes

**A/N: Hello folks. Finally an update! Sigh, I don't know when things got so out of hand. I'm too scared to even LOOK at the last time I updated. Good news though! For those God-sent angels that are STILL following this story, I will try my very hardest to make the next couple chapters not however long apart this one was. And yes, it will only be a couple more chapters, sorry my friends :(  
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**But, thank you for making this my longest and most... well most everything-ed story! And the biggest thanks to HeartMurdock345 for kicking me off my lazy butt and reminding me that this story has yet to be finished! You have them to thank for this chapter! **

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**Chapter 18: Till We Close Our Eyes For Good**

Hannibal had looked around the corner just in time to see Murdock dashing off towards the building where the CIA was stationed,

"Murdock!" He called out, even though he knew it was too late. B.A. spun around in time to see the Captain disappear behind the wall guarding the outside entrance. Hannibal wasted no time in chasing after him, praying to God the CIA wouldn't shoot him on-sight.

"Damn it!" B.A. exclaimed in frustration before following quickly behind the Colonel, his mind reeling through all of the stupid situations that fool could get himself into in there.

Murdock whipped his head around frantically, trying to make ups and downs of wherever the Sam-heck he was. There was nothing on the walls, absolutely nothing. In fact, there was no sign that anyone even inhabited this building.

'_Huh, looks kinda like the VA...'_ Murdock thought to himself, _'That's it! The nurse man told me we were goin' to some new treatment place, this must be it! Damn it, I try and escape and I end up running right into the place I was suppose to!' _A shuffling noise came from around the corner, _'Shit, orderlies!'_ Murdock thought in a panic. He dashed into an alcove, pressing his back against the wall as much as he possibly could.

'_They're coming to take me away ha ha, they're coming to take me away ho ho. Hee hee, ha ha, to the funny farm where life is beautiful all the time and I'll be happy to see those nice young men in their clean white coats and they're coming to take me away ha ha!'_

Murdock grinned mischievously at his little song and proceeded to run in the opposite direction of the orderly, zigzagging down several hallways until he was sure that whoever- or whatever- was coming down the hallway was long gone.

Murdock continued walking at a leisurely pace, shoving his hands into his pockets. _'Ow, why the hell did that hurt?' _Murdock thought to himself, but gave it no further thought and rounded a corner, still focused on the canvas of blank walls.

A sort-of mangled scream brought the Captain out of his temporary relaxed mood.

'_What in the world...?' _He wondered. The sound repeated itself, louder this time. Murdock swore he could also make out some pretty hefty swear words as well, words he'd even be cautious using. Curiosity taking over, Murdock jogged over to the door the screams seemed to be coming from. He threw open the door and gasped loudly,

'_Oh my God.' _

Face screamed. Loudly.

Followed by the most insulting string of cuss words that B.A. would have been proud of.

Electricity coursed through his body via the live wire pressed against his arm. Pain he thought was unimaginable seemed to fill every crevice of his mind and body as Lynch relentless held the cable against him for a few more seconds before finally releasing the Lieutenant.

"So, Peck," Lynch panted, out of breath from holding the seizing Lieutenant to the wire, "You gonna tell us where your team is?"

"Go to Hell you son of a bitch!" Face yelled, still dazed from being electrocuted.

Lynch was about to shock him again when the door slammed open, revealed a very thin man with long, shaggy hair.

"MURDOCK!" Face screamed; confusion, relief, and concern coursing through him at once.

Lynch wasted no time; his exposed a gun from a belt on his hip, pressing the muzzle to Face's head.

"Freeze! Not one more step or I'll blow his brains out!" Lynch seethed.

"What? What the Hell's going on here? Who are you people?" Murdock looked from the blonde man, to the man he was holding a gun to, and back to the blonde man. _'What kind of hospital is this?'_

"Murdock! Jesus Christ Murdock, this is so not the time. It's me! It's Face!"

'_Face...'_ The name rang a bell in Murdock's head, along with some major deja vu. He stood there, speechless. Lynch cocked the gun to Face's head and Face could practically _feel_ his finger on the trigger.

"Murdock, please! You gotta remember!" Face was caught by surprise when he felt tears escaping down his cheeks. It was all too much for him; losing Murdock, finding out that Scotty hated him, shooting Scotty nearly point-blank, almost losing Murdock only to have him taken _again, _finding him with his wrists slashed, and now... now he was two seconds away from dying right in front of his best friend and his best friend didn't even know who he was. Face was crying... Jesus, he was scared for his life and he was _crying_.

"Murdock, I'm begging you!"

Murdock put his hands up, nervous of the man with the gun and the other man that was visibly distressed. _'Murdock, he keeps calling me Murdock... why the hell is he...? Oh shit... Murdock's my name isn't it? Damn, it's been years since anyone's called me that... How does __he__ know my name...?'_

"A-alright, sir. Just don't hurt him, please..." Murdock got on his knees warily, only to have the blonde man run over and handcuff his hands behind his back, shoving him against the wall.

"Hey! What the hell's going on here? I didn't do nothin'! Lemme outta this! I ain't going into one of them rooms, you here? I'm not!" Murdock continued screaming until he was met in the face by Lynch's boot, causing blood to pool in his mouth.

He spit it out on to the floor, looking up at Lynch in disdain, "Who _are_ you?"

"_Murdock! Face!_" came a familiar voice from down the hall, followed by loud grunts and various sounds of violence and fist-fighting. Hannibal and B.A. burst into the room, causing Face to stand up reflexively and for Murdock to fall backwards onto the cold flooring of the facility.

"Hannibal!" Face cried.

"What the hell kind of hospital did you send me to, doc?" Murdock yelled at the same time. Less that a second later, Lynch recovered from the shock of the other half of the A-Team barging in through the door, backing up and looping his arm around the Lieutenant, his gun pressing against Face's temple once more.

"That's enough! Nobody move or he dies!" Lynch shouted.

"Now, now Lynch, let's not be hasty. You remember how that turned out last time, don't you?" Hannibal taunted, hoping to think of some way to get out of this; unfortunately he could think of no way that he could get his entire team out alive.

Back on the floor, Murdock's head was spinning out of control. _'What the fuck... who are these people? I know them... I swear I do... Damn it, why do I feel like I __just__ did this? How could I forget them again? Damn I really need to fix my intermittent memory...'_ Murdock's vision went from the older man, to the one with the Mohawk, to the one held at gun point, to the blonde one, back to the older man, a helicopter, a bigger helicopter, a court room, an airplane...

All at once memories flooded into his mind for the second time; months, years, decades of memories. He snapped his head up to Lynch, finding his finger on the trigger and moving.

"FACE!" He screamed, diving for the Lieutenant's torso. Lynch glanced at the Captain.

A gunshot rang out.

'_Ow, ow, ow... What the fuck just happened...? __Where's Lynch?'_

"_Lieutenant! Lieutenant!"_

'_God, why the hell does Hannibal have to yell so loud?'_

"_Come on, fool! We gotta get you to a fuckin' hospital!"_

'_Bosco?'_

"_Facey? Come on, Facey! I remember, I really do! Please, Face! I'm sorry!"_

'_M-Murdock? He remembers...? He remembers what?' _Face groggily opened his eyes to find himself face-to-face with a pair of huge green-grey eyes.

"Face! Oh, thank you Jesus!" Murdock yelled, his drawl strongly present. "We thought we'd lost ya' for a second there."

It was then that the mind-numbing pain in Face's shoulder made itself known to him. The young Lieutenant groan, clamping a hand onto his collarbone only to find it soaked in blood.

"Murdock...? The fuck...?"

"It's okay, Facey. Everything's gonna be alright now. Hannibal's got an ambulance and names for all of us; B.A.'s taking care of Lynch too. And boy is he taking care of him!" Murdock laughed; a sound Face hadn't heard in weeks. And at that moment it was the purest thing Face had ever heard in his life.

"Murdock?" Face gasped, realizing for the first time that he was having to battle with consciousness, "I- I love you buddy, so much. Don't ever scare us like that again... ever..."

Murdock smirked his signature lopsided-grin, "Aww Facey, I love you too. But we can talked about that more when you stop leaking! You gotta hold on right now, Facey! Don't fall asleep!"

Face could here sirens faintly, and he hoped to God that they had made it far enough that they wouldn't send the team back to the same hospital they had just been at. _'That would really raise some questions...'_ He thought, trying to fight off the black dots invading the sides of his vision.

"You still with us, Lieutenant?" Face heard Hannibal's rough voice from across the room.

"Yep! Still kicking it," Face managed to say, some-what loudly, until a spike of pain caused him to groan again.

"Hold on, fool!" He heard Bosco in the distance followed by the sound of someone getting pummeled; he could only imagine it to be Lynch. _'Wow, being at the mercy of an angry B.A...'_ Face almost felt sorry for the guy... almost.

The sound of sirens increased to a headache-inducing level for Face, who scrunched up his eyes against the noises of the outside world. The last thing he heard before the steady beat of his heart on yet another hospital monitor was Murdock singing:

"_Oh no, we can't slow down, we can't hold back; though you know we wish we could. Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good..."_

* * *

**A/N: Songs: "They're Coming to Take Me Away" - Napoleon XIV (Or if that artist doesn't suit your fancy, I found a very nice remake of it by Neuroticfish; it's basically the same except some heavier bass and the voice does not increase pitch during the chorus)**

** "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked" - Cage the Elephant (yes I know I did this song before, but I thought it really fits the team)**

Thank you all SO much for reading. PLEASE review so that my paranoia doesn't convince me that I'm writing to the air now. I'm determined to finish this story no matter what, even if it kills me, but still.

**Also, to those of you that have seen the movies: What would you think about me writing either an X-Men: First Class fic or a Transformers fic? **

**The X-Men: FC plot you can find at my profile**

**The Transformers fic (which would be based off of all 3 movies) would be a series of events, pre-movies and 'cut scenes' from the movies all from Ratchet's POV. I don't know why Ratchet struck me as a favorite character, I guess I focus on the character that's part of the main group yet you know the least about ;)**

**Anyways, let me know what you think in the reviews! Thanks again for reading! (And if you took the time to read my way-too-long ANs)**

**Love and luck, IYD24**


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